Into the Past
by SophieAnnWard
Summary: What will Luke do when the Force sends him into the past, right in front of his Father? Will he be able to change the future?
1. Will of the Force

_**Into the Past**_

**Chapter One: Will of the Force**

"Focus you must!" Luke winced and rubbed at the spot where Yoda had striked him with his walking stick.

"Master Yoda, must you really do that..." Luke took the next whack to his head as a "yes", and settled himself down on the floor with a sigh.

It had only been three weeks since he had arrived on Dagobah in search for Yoda. He had learned much in the short time they had been together, but there was still one thing that Luke was nowhere close to mastering yet; meditating.

Yoda had decided to dedicate the whole day to meditating, andd Luke had simply been dreading it. He didn't mind meditating, per se, he was simply a man of action and longed to be doing something productive with his time.

Closing his eyes, Luke soon felt himself surrounded in the Force. It washed over him, and he felt a rolling wave of clarity sweep across his mind; he could see the Jedi Temple swimming into view, an empty corridor...no, not empty, there was a young man dressed in black strolling along it...something was wrong.

Luke tried to pull out of the vision-scene-whatever it was, but he couldn't. In fact, the more he tried the leave, the clearer things became and the more he felt his mind leave reality.

_**Master Yoda, help me! **_

The next thing Luke knew, he was staring into the same electric blue eyes as his own.

"Stars!" he yelped, struggling to get out of the young mans vice-like grip.

"Who are you?" he demanded, one hand pressed across Luke's chest (effectively pinning him to the wall behind him) as the man's other hand was resting dangerously on top of his Lightsaber.

Choking from the suddeness of it all, Luke managed to gasp out a few incoherent words before the other man let him go.

"I-I'm Luke. What's the big idea, pinning me against a wall?!" massaging his sore neck, he glared up into the face of...his Father? He froze and blinked in confusion.

Yes, it was his Father standing before him as a Jedi. Then what...

_The vision! The Force...no it's not possible, is it? Time-travel...but Ben and Yoda had always said that the Force worked in mysterious ways... _Luke was snapped out of his troubled thoughts by Anakin's loud voice, who he realized had been asking him a question.

"-I said, are you even listening to me?" he demanded, glaring at the younger man. He had been enjoying a peaceful stroll through the Jedi Temple when this kid turns up out of nowhere, stumbling all over the place.

Upon seeing a Lightsaber clipped to his belt, and having never seen him before at the Temple, Anakin had immediately restrained him.

"Huh? Y-yeah, I'm just a bit...lost." it was hard to believe that the young man standing before him was his Father, that he would turn into Darth Vader...they seemed like two entirely different people, and in a way, they were.

"I can see that. You aren't wearing traditional Padawan clothing, nor do you have a braid in your hair. I've never seen you before...who are you and why are you here?" He asked suspiciously.

"I'm Luke Sky...Starkiller." He blurted out, wincing at his slip-up. His Father couldn't know who he was, he just _couldn't_.

"Luke Starkiller." Anakin stated skeptically. "Why are you here?"

"Uhm, erm, I'm here to see...Master, uh, Yoda! Yes, I'm here to see Master Yoda." Luke's ears burned bright red from his hastily constructed lie.

Anakin's face showed nothing but skeptism, but he suddenly jerked forwards as the younger man collapsed.

"Luke?" Anakin jiggled the limp body he was currently holding, and with a sigh, proceeded to carry him to the medical center.

* * *

"Wassit...huh? Yoda?" Luke mumbled, recognizing the blurry green lump that was standing not too far away. As his vision sharpened, his face lost all colour as he saw the _whole Jedi High Council _gathered around his bed.

"Skywalker found you wandering around a corridor seemingly lost. He said that you had requested to see Master Yoda?" A man Luke recognised as Mace Windu had been standing next to Yoda, and had finally decided to break the silence.

"Oh, y-yeah. Thanks." He mumbled sheepishly at Anakin.

"Not from our time, you are?" Yoda asked, hopping down from the stool on which he had been perched on.

Luke's eyes widened considerably, "how did you...?" Yoda held up a wrinkled hand.

"The Force, hmm? Ask your purpose here I will not. Seek however, an explanation I do." everyone stared at him expectantly, and with a painful pang of regret, Luke recognized Obi-Wan among the crowd of people around him.

"Yes, I am from the future, for some reason the Force sent me here, around twenty years into the past-the reason I do not know. What I do know, however, is that I have been sent here for a reason...I just don't know what that reason is yet." he mumbled dejectedly at the end.

"The Council will need to meditate upon this matter. Skywalker, show...Luke was it? Show Luke the spare room near yours, and find him some clothing in the mean time." Mace ordered, and with that, the Council filed out.

_That went easier than expected. I thought they would question me until I lost my voice or something. _Luke turned his gaze towards his Father and Obi-Wan. _I'll have to shield my mind. _He thought, suddenly glad that Yoda had taught him how to.

"Well, no time like the present!" Obi-Wan smiled kindly at Luke, and the two Jedi Masters waited for him to get up.

"So how old are you? You can't be older than what, 17?" Anakin conversed casually although a bit stiffly.

"I'm 20 years old!" Luke replied indignantly. He didn't look that young did he? Well, his height probably didn't help either. He felt positivly dwarfed by the two much taller Jedi.

"Twenty? Why Anakin, he's only three years younger than you!" Obi-Wan seemed to find this new revelation amusing and chuckled, whilst Anakin simply stared Luke up and down.

Reaching the spare room which was nearly opposite Anakin's, Luke looked around. It was spacious, well, more spacious than he had previously thought it would be. The necessites were already there; a bed, a kitchenette and a bathroom. It seemed that Luke had everything he would need.

"Anakin, I have some business I need to attend to, so I'm placing Luke in your care." Obi-Wan explauned, placing a fatherly hand on both Anakin's and Luke's shoulders before smiling and walking away, pretending not to hear Anakin's cries of protest.

_Great, my own dad doesn't even want to spend time with me. _Luke huffed, suddenly put out by the whole situation.

Oh well, only the Force knew how long he'd be stuck in the past. Perhaps he could even learn what his Father was like before he turned to the Darkside.


	2. Nightmare

**_AN: Okay so just to clear some things up, yes I have read Wookipedia, quite extensively as well (since I have nothing better to do with my life xD), and for this story Luke will be 20 and Anakin will be 23. Luke may know some things which, (in the movies), he might not know about. PLEASE bare with me here as this is my first time writing a time travel Star Wars fic and I'm still trying to align everything up timline wise etc...etc...so yeah, I might make some stuff up or whatever but this story is just a little side one to the main one I'm focusing on atm so yanoe, yeah_****_ :D_**

* * *

**Chapter Two: Nightmare**

To say it was awkward would not even begin to cover how Luke and Anakin stared at each other in complete silence. Luke felt the overwhelming urge to flop onto his new bed and wake up to find it had all been a screwed up dream.

Luke ran his fingers through his hair and let his eyes wander around the corridor they were in, he just couldn't stay still. Anakin, on the other hand, hadn't seemed to move a muscle since Obi-Wan had left-save for his eyes which awkwardly gazed everywhere apart from Luke.

"Well, what should we do?" Luke asked, a strained smile appearing on his face.

Anakin regarded him briefly, and let his blue eyes wander up to the ceiling, a thoughtful look on his face.

"Are you hungry?" He finally asked, and Luke realized how hungry he actually was. His tummy rumbled as if to answer for him, and Anakin watched in amusement as Luke's face heated up.

"Yeah." it seemed that the previous animosity his father had had towards him was gradually fading away, though the older Jedi was still on edge.

They walked in companiable silence for a while, Luke simply soaking up the sight of the Temple, his mouth loosely hanging open. Anakin chuckled, and was reminded of when he himself first arrived at the temple-the same look had been upon his face too.

"Here we are, the canteen! You can find pretty much anything that's served on Coruscant in here." Anakin lead the way towards the front, an eager Luke following closely behind.

After getting their food, Luke sat down opposite Anakin and immediately started eating. Anakin watched in fascination at the amount of food Luke seemed to inhale.

_Force, I hadn't been that hungry when I was younger, had I? _He thought, watching with a feeling of disgust and amusement. Shaking his head lightly, he brushed his long-ish hair out of his face and ate at a more leisurely pace.

"So...you're from the future?" Anakin asked, watching with mild interest as Luke choked at the sudden question.

"Y-yeah." he coughed, his eyes watering. Growing suddenly concerned, Anakin reached across the table and thumped him hard on the back.

Rubbing the back of his neck in a sheepish manner (similar to Anakin's habit), he mumbled an embarrassed thanks and continued to eat more slowly.

"Must be weird, being so far back in time? I can't imagine how I'd feel. Sorry about the whole-you know-pinning against the wall thing." he reached up to rub his neck, and paused before lowering his hand.

"Huh? Oh." Luke laughed, and Anakin immediately smiled as well. "It fine, really." waving his hand in a dismissive gesture, Luke got up and cleared his plate away.

The two men walked out of the canteen making small talk which consisted of Luke asking questions and Anakin answering them.

Yes, this was definitely the father that Luke had yearned for since he was a little child. It was hard to believe that this was the same man who had become Darth Vader. _Vader_. Luke frowned as his heart suddenly ached.

Anakin himself was lost in his own thoughts; the young man standing next to him (though he seemed so much like a child) had only been in his life for an hour or so, and he already felt as if he shared a connection with him. He couldn't explain why he felt so protective over the young man, it wasn't as if he couldn't fight or defend himself, it was simply a mystery.

"Ah, Anakin! How good to see you!" Anakin was pulled from his thoughts by the warm voice of Chancellor Palpatine.

"Chancellor Palpatine." Anakin greeted, stopping to greet the man. Over the last few years the man had become a somewhat of a father figure to Anakin, save for Obi-Wan. _No one _could replace him.

_Palpatine. _Luke restrained himself from physically launching himself at the man. He could kill him right now...and his future would be different. He'd grow up with both his parents, he wouldn't be in the Rebellion-it wouldn't even exist!

"And who is this young fellow?" Palpatine asked, his voice curious. Curious, yet laced with darkness. His very being screamed out malice intent, was Luke the only one who noticed?! The way the mans eyes were deceivingly filled with warmth, but no, Luke could see the coldness behind those eyes.

"Luke Starkiller. He's from-"

"I'm from Tatooine. C'mon Anakin, I wanna do something." Luke all but pulled the Jedi away from the Chancellor, sending him the darkest glares he could manage.

"Luke!" Anakin hissed, pulling them into a corner, "that was the _Chancellor_, you can't act that way in front of him! I really should find him and apologize on your behalf..." he swept his left hand through his hair, his right clenched into a fist.

"No! Let's just go somewhere else." Luke didn't wait for Anakin's reply as he stormed off, momentarily surprised at how he was acting.

_It's not my fault, that conniving old man ruined everything! He ruined my life and the entire Galaxy! _Luke hadn't realized how much he hated Palpatine until he had come face to face with him, manipulating his own father, turning him to the Darkside...

Anakin was completely bewildered as to what had caused Luke to become so angry. They had spent the rest of the day relaxing and getting to know each other in the gardens that surrounded the Temple, he had hoped that they would calm Luke down; and right he was. Luke was soon back to his old self. Still, perhaps it was best that the Chancellor and Luke avoided each other.

Still, Luke had challenged him to a Lightsaber duel (due to take place the next day), and Anakin was curious as to how skilled he was. Flexing his mechanical hand, he let his thoughts drift to Padme and their unborn child, hoping that they were well. He'd have to visit her tomorrow, perhaps he could bring Luke...

* * *

_"You were my brother Anakin! I loved you!"_

_"I HATE YOU!" _

_Fire...burning his skin...he screamed in agony, why wasn't Obi-Wan helping him? The pain was overwhelming, his every nerve was on fire, he couldn't feel anything...smoke...coughing as he suffocated...choking on the smell of his own burnt flesh...an agonizing scream damaging his already damaged throat..._

The painful scream died in Luke's throat and he flopped off of his bed and onto the floor in a tangle of legs and duvet. He had broken out into a cold sweat, and he couldn't stop himself from shaking. The first time he had seen that scene in a vision had rattled him to his very core, and every time he dreamt about it, it still had the same effect.

He reared back as he felt hands grab at his arms. He kicked out, the nightmare still effecting him.

"Luke shh, shh it's alright your safe. You're in the Jedi Temple." a familiar voice soothed, helping him sit on his bed. Luke shrugged away the hovering person and shakily pressed his face into his hands. He thought he'd managed to deal with that particular nightmare...but he obviously hadn't.

Anakin had been woken from his sleep by a scream. He had instantly recognized it as Luke and he leaped out of bed, Lightsaber in hand. He burst out of his room, not even bothering to shut his door.

Brandishing his Lightsaber, Anakin had expected to be faced with a deadly foe; perhaps it was rogue Jedi or even a Sith. He knew his imagination was running away from him, so he focused back on Luke; he was tangled up in his duvet on the floor, thrashing around and clearly in pain.

Anakin wasted no time in dragging him up to sit on his bed, even when he felt his legs being viciously kicked. He tried to calm Luke down, and it seemed to work to some degree for the wild look in his eyes had faded and his breathing had calmed down.

Suddenly realizing how close he was, Anakin shuffled away to give the other man some space.

"I'm fine." Luke finally croaked out, refusing to look into his father's eyes. He couldn't, not knowing what terrible pain he would soon be suffering. He squeezed his eyes shut to control the torrent of tears that usually accompanied that nightmare. Even after months, he still wasn't used to it, and he doubted that he ever would be.

"You need some water. Hang on, let me get some for you." Anakin got up and poured Luke some water before returning to him. Sipping the water, Luke snuck a glance at the other man.

He looked disheveled and tired, though the most noticeable thing about him was the look of worry on his face.

"It must've been an intense nightmare, to have you screaming like that." Anakin commented, unsure as to what he should do. He was no stranger to nightmares, he was plagued with them on most nights (the reason why he detested sleeping) but he would deal with them himself.

Luke looked so young and vulnerable in that moment, the nightmare clearly having shaken him. Anakin wished that there was something he could do, anything to remove the terrible look on the younger mans face.

"It is. You have no...idea." Luke swallowed, _you will have an idea soon enough, _he thought morosely.

"You can tell me what in it. Maybe that'll help. Have you ever told anyone about them before?"

Luke shook his head, eyes downcast.

"Well, it'll probably help if you told someone." Anakin smiled reassuringly, though careful not to do anything to make the issue worse. He'd only met Luke that day and they knew each other only for a few hours, and yet it seemed as if Anakin had known him all his life.

It scared him to a certain degree.

Luke was eerily similar to himself; sun-bleached hair (from living on Tatooine, something which Anakin was itching to ask him about), their personalities were very similar, and when he smiled it was like he was looking into a mirror. The thing that threw him most however, were his eyes.

_Force _they were blue. As blue as his own. The same electrifying bright blue eyes.

"Please Anakin, I don't want to keep you up." Luke sounded so tired that Anakin nodded and got up.

"If you need me you know where to find me." he paused at the door, hesitant to leave Luke alone.

_I'll talk to him tomorrow. He'll be better by then. _He quietly shut the door and retired to his room.

Neither Anakin or Luke got anymore sleep that night.


	3. A Night to Remember

**Chapter Three: A Night to Remember**

Anakin briefly wondered if it was a bad idea to bring Luke with him to visit Padme. He supposed no harm could come from it, and he _was _supposed o be watching Luke...so it made sense for him to tag along, right?

"We're going to see a good friend of mine, Padme. She's the Senator of Naboo." Anakin explained, trying (and failing) to indiscreetly smooth his ruffled hair down.

Luke tensed unexpectedly. His _mother_. Now that he had time to reflect on everything that had happened in his life, it'd always been about his father. Vader this, Anakin that. Stars, the most he even knew about her was that her name was Padme, nevermind the Senator of Naboo.

"Really?" Luke asked in a strangled voice.

"Yes, she used to be Queen of Naboo..." Anakin cut of whatever Luke was about to say by softly knocking on her door.

Luke's heart sped up-he was sure that Anakin would be able to hear it since it was beating so loudly. The door opened, and the two young men were greeted by the short yets beautiful Senator; her hair was dark brown and cascaded in waves to rest upon her shoulders, her eyes were a dark brown colour that seemed to be lit up by the smile on her face.

"Anakin!" she exclaimed joyfully.

"Padme," Anakin replied softly, catching her in a hug, "I brought a guest along, if you don't mind." he rubbed the back of his neck bashfully and gestured at Luke.

"Oh, I'm Luke, uhm, pleasure to meet you!" Stumbling over his words, Luke eagerly shook her hand.

"Pleasure to meet you too, Luke. Come inside." Anakin stepped inside and Luke followed behind hesitantly.

Sitting down awkwardly next to his father, Luke could only watch as Anakin and Padme talked easily.

_This is how it _should've _been, we should've been a family. Sitting together like this, talking about whatever we wanted to...it would've been perfect. _Luke knew better than to think about what his life could've been like. No, it would never happen, so he had to focus on what he could turn it into.

"I've never seen you before Luke. Are you new to the Jedi Order? You seem a bit old to be a youngling.." she mused quietly, laughing as Luke's face flushed.

"Oh uh, I'm just staying there for a while. You see I was trained on my home planet Tatooine by someone else...and uh, came to Coruscant to see...the Jedi." He finished lamely. Well it wasn't a _complete _lie per se, but he thought it would be better if not too many people knew he was from the future.

Anakin shot him a questioning glance which Luke pointedly ignored. The three of them lapsed into comfortable conversation for another hour before Anakin and Luke had to leave.

"Visit again soon, Anakin. You're welcome to visit as well, Luke." Padme smiled and hugged both of them. She didn't know why, but she felt almost _motherly _around Luke. She had been surprised when she learned that he was 20 years old, he seemed so much younger!

"C'mon, we don't want anyone questioning us on where we've been." Anakin clamped his hand down firmly on Luke's shoulder and steered him towards their Speeder. Ears burning, Luke shrugged his hand off, though secretly thrilled at any interaction to do with his father.

_And mother. _He added, a silly grin on his face. He wasn't sure why the Force had sent him here, to learn about his parents or something else-he did not know. What he _did _know was that he certainly wasn't complaining. This was everything he had dreamed of and _more_!...if only Palpatine wasn't there.

"Hey, we still haven't had our Lightsaber duel." Luke teased, nudging Anakin with his elbow.

"We'll do so as soon as we get back to the Temple. I have to warn you though, I'm preeeetty good." Anakin smirked at Luke's huff.

"We'll see about that...can I fly us back?" Luke asked, using his baby blue eyes to his advantage. He widened them and looked at Anakin expectantly-something that had _always _worked with Aunt Beru.

"Certainly not!" Anakin laughed as Luke rolled his eyes and strapped himself in. He was immune to that look because he'd used it himself on Obi-Wan many times.

"You treat me like a kid..." Luke mumbled, though not bitterly.

Anakin didn't reply, though the soft smile that was on his face said everything. Lifting off from the ground, Anakin and Luke flew back to the Temple.

* * *

Locked in battle, the two men broke away from each other only to have their Lightsaber's clash in a colourful shower of sparks. The younger of the two held himself well, though he was no match for the more advanced, older one.

A crowd had gathered, yet they didn't cheer. No, this Lightsaber duel was unlike any other they'd seen at the Temple; so fierce that they dared not make a sound lest they missed something. The two Jedi themselves seemed unaware of the crowd, instead focused solely on each other.

It was all over in a flash though; a quick flick of the wrist and Luke Skywalker had been disarmed, his 'saber clattering to the floor-as well as himself. Anakin immediately deactivated his own weapon in favor of grasping Luke's hand and helping him up.

"You okay? I _told _you I'd win...though I must admit, you gave me a run for my money!" Luke blushed at his father's praise and picked up his Lightsaber.

"Stars, you _are _good. I thought you were just being cocky!" Making their way through the dispersing crowd, they collapsed on a bench.

_Vader really had been holding back on Bespin. _Luke thought despairingly. His pride took another blow as the memory of how easily he'd been defeated by him rose. He half-heartedly listened to what Anakin was talking about.

_I can't kill my Father, not now. Not when I know what he's like...I just can't. _His heart stung with the very idea of it. _No, I'll turn him to the Light! I know there's still good in him, I can't..._ Luke massaged his head and glanced at Anakin. _Maybe I can change the past so that the future doesn't happen? It's risky, but I have to try...maybe that's why the Force sent me here._

"Have you been listening to a word I was saying?" Anakin asked, waving his hand in front of Luke's face.

"Wha-? Yeah I was, honestly!" he defended feebly, watching Anakin's dubious expression turn into one of respect. Luke was bewildered at the sudden change. Then he realized..

Palpatine was there. He felt him before he saw him; the cold chilling presence of his Force signature seemed to choke Luke. He visibly recoiled, a grimace on his face. Shuffling so that he was pressed against his father's side, he watched as the deceivingly nice looking old man aproached them.

"I haven't seen a duel that good in a while," he praised, "It seems that with a bit more training, Anakin might have met his match!" a withered old hand found it's way onto Luke's shoulder, which felt completely _wrong _for him. Only his father could do that, not this miserable excuse of a human being.

"He is extremely gifted with the Force." Anakin said, pride practically oozing off him.

"Yes...very talented..." Palpatine regarded Luke curiously.

_If he thinks that I'll let him steal Anakin he's got another thing coming! _Luke thought hotly, the very air around him seemed tainted with anger.

"Luke..?" Anakin's concerned blue eyes calmed Luke down. He _was _going to save his father, even if the Force meant for him not to.

"Well we're going now, so we'll have to cut this..._talk _short." Luke dragged Anakin away who managed to let out a strangled goodbye.

* * *

"I really wish you'd treat the Chancellor with more respect." Anakin sighed for perhaps the thousandth time.

"He doesn't deserve any." Luke answered shortly. They were strolling around the outside of the Temple, enjoying the cool evening air.

"Let's not talk about him." Anakin suggested.

_Is this how parents feel when they nag their kids? _The thought made Anakin feel strangely warm inside.

"Hey, want to see who can climb the highest?" Luke asked, pointing to the Temple.

"Luke, the Temple wasn't built with climbing in mind." Anakin answered skeptically.

"_So_?" Luke challenged, a michevious grin appearing on his face. Quickly judging the distance, Luke sprinted as fast as he could whilst gather the Force around him before jumping. His fingers scrabbled to hold onto a ledge that stuck out.

"LUKE! Get down _now_! The Temple shouldn't be-LUKE!" Anakin yelled, furious that the young man was ignoring him. A merry laugh floated down to his ears as he watched Luke climb higher still.

Anakin would've been up to climbing the Temple when he was younger, perhaps even at 23 he still would've...but not with Luke.

_He's so foolish! He's too young and...stars he's going to fall and break his neck! Just wait till I get my hands on him... _Anakin chased after Luke, using the Force to help him catch up.

Luke had just reached a large flat part of the Temple and was attempting to pull himself up when his fingers slipped.

_No, no no no no... _with a startled (NOT girly) scream, Luke flailed his hands in a desperate attempt to grab onto something. Anakin was yelling something incomprehensible, trying to use the Force to slow Luke's descent.

"LUKE-oof!" Anakin groaned as Luke violently grabbed his foot, hanging on for dear life.

"Quick, climb down!" Luke instructed, his weight slowly but surely dragging Anakin down.

"I'm going to kill you, you little rascal." Anakin grunted, reaching a hand down to pull Luke up.

Together, they climbed down (with Anakin keeping a _very _close eye on Luke). As soon as their feet touched solid ground Anakin spun to face Luke and grabbed his shoulders. Luke winced as mechanical fingers dug into his skin.

"I _told _you it was dangerous! You could've been killed! You idiot! Do you _want _to die?!" Anakin exploded, shaking Luke furiously.

"I-"

"It was a rhetorical question!" Luke felt bad knowing that he'd scared his father, but he felt the warmth inside him grow. His father was _worried _for him, sure he was shaking him until he felt dizzyingly sick and was furiously yelling, but it was for _him_.

"I'm sorry." Luke replied as Anakin finally relented.

"Well, you should be." Anakin retorted, sending the shorter man a stern glare.

"Yes _father_." Luke teased, leading the way back to their rooms.

"Luke, you never mentioned your parents. They're alive right now, aren't they? Have you ever thought that you might bump into them?" Anakin asked, gently steering Luke the right way.

"Y-yeah. I've thought about that..." Luke mumbled.

"You know, if I ever have a son, I'd want him to be like you." Anakin mumbled, embarrassed at admitting such a thing to Luke. To be honest though the thought had entered Anakin's mind more than once. They had grown so close in such little time...

"Really?" a lump formed in Luke's throat and he blinked back tears. He had never thought about whether or not Anakin would like him for _him_, it seemed that all Vader cared about was using him to kill the Emperor...

"Luke, what's wrong?" Anakin threw an arm out to block him. Luke looked up in puzzlement before he realized that tears had startled to well up in his eyes.

"Oh. Nothing, really. Just...my parents are dead, and I never got to know them. It just meant a lot to hear that from someone..." he scrubbed at his eyes, mortified at showing such weakness. His father surely thought that he was some cry-baby, incapable of doing anything right...

"Well they would've been proud of you no matter what!" Anakin replied fiercely, sympathy for Luke welling up in his chest. He hesitantly gave Luke a loose hug, and Luke immediately hugged back.

"Sorry." He muttered a few seconds later, a small grin on his face.

"Don't worry, it's fine." Anakin replied. They bade each other good night and retired to their seperate rooms.

Neither of them had any nightmares that night.


	4. Flying

**Chapter Four: Flying **

Luke was roused was from his sleep by persistent knocking. He dragged his pillow over his head in an attempt to drown the sound out. Maybe if he pretended to be asleep they'd go away...

**Knock, knock, knock. **

"I'm coming!" Luked shouted, yanking his duvet off him. Storming up to the door (the clock said it was only 6am in the morning after all) Luke was ready to give the person a piece of his mind for disturbing him.

"It's 6am for Force sake! _Some _people are trying to sleep-" he flung the door open and stopped short as he came face to face with Palpatine.

"Luke." The old man exclaimed, a smile appearing on his face.

"You!" Luke made to slam the door in his face, perhaps catch one or two of his fingers in the process (_it'd serve him right! _Luke had justified in his mind), but the movement was blocked by a foot.

The Chancellor pushed the door open, forcing Luke to retreat into his room.

"Luke m'boy, I don't know what caused you to have this animosity towards me. I only wish to get to know you a bit better. You've been quite a popular topic for the Jedi Council to discuss." He stated pleseantly, gently shutting the door firmly behind him.

Luke paused momentarily, it was true; he hadn't heard from the council apart from the day that he had arrived unexpectedly at the Temple.

"What's your point?" Luke asked, muscles tensed in preparation for a possible fight. Who _knew _what a younger Palpatine would be capable of?

"Anakin has been called away to handle a minor situation with Obi-Wan Kenobi, so I offered to watch over you until he got back." he smiled charmingly, though Luke knew it was all an act.

"I'm not a kid, I'm 20 years old so I _think _I can take care of myself." Luke retorted, defiance written all over his face.

Palpatine chuckled and regarded Luke curiously.

"Sometimes when I look at you, I see a younger version of Anakin. You two are very similar, much more than you both seem to realize. One could mistake you for brothers." Luke stared at the Chancellor, confused and with a lack of anything to say.

He didn't know what the Sith was up to, but he was thoroughly repulsed by the mere act of standing near him. He glared at the Chancellor, _knowing _what he'd become, what he'd do in the future.

_I could just murder him now...expose him as a Sith...my life would be so much better... _

"-was wondering if perhaps you'd like to accompany me?" Luke blinked at the man, eyebrows knitted together in confusion.

"What? I'm not going anywhere with _you_." Luke replied acidicly. Palpatine's facial expression contorted into one of anger but it was only for a sceond, one might of thought they had imagined it.

Not Luke though, he wasn't stupid enough to go anywhere with that man _alone_.

"I don't think you heard everything I had said. I had proposed that I could perhaps show you around Coruscant, leave the Jedi Temple for a bit. I know it can become boring being cooped up in here for so long." Luke squinted and regarded Palpatine suspiciously.

"I'm only leaving the Temple today if I can go out flying," Luke muttered, "alone!" he hastily added as a deceptive grin appeared on the old man's face.

Palpatine's face fell, though it was soon replaced by a thoughtful expression.

"Another thing you share in common with Anakin; a passion for flying!" he clapped his hand enthusiastically, and Luke found it very hard to believe it was an act.

_Now I can see why the Jedi were so oblivious to his true nature. _He mused to himself.

"I see." Luke replied carefully, deciding to play along with whatever twisted game Palpatine had concocted.

"I can arrange for you to go flying! It'd have to be in secret though, the Jedi _are _very strict when it comes to the rules you know." He dipped his head at Luke whilst giving him an 'innocent' wink.

"Yeah, whatever. If you don't mind I'd like to go back to sleep." The forced politeness did not go by unmissed by Palpatine, whose eyes narrowed dangerously.

"I will see you later today, Starkiller". Palpatine sent him another smile before sweeping from his room and shutting the door.

Once he was sure that the man had left, Luke went to lock it only to realize there was no lock. He kicked the door in his frustration, rationalizing that the Jedi must have thought they had no need for locks.

The thought didn't keep Luke from sending the door another nasty look.

_He wasted 15 minutes of my time! _Luke massaged his head, he could feel a headache growing. He wondered idly where his father was. He would've _loved _to have gone with his father on a mission, to _really _see the Hero With No Fear in action.

He glanced out of his window, staring wistfully at the skies. It felt like it had been forever since he'd last just let himself loose across the sky, not a care in the world. Luke decided it couldn't hurt to let the Chancellor help him get some time alone in the skies.

* * *

Anakin couldn't help but let his thoughts drift over to Luke; how was he? He prayed to the Force that Luke and the Chancellor would get along, at least until he returned

"I hope you now realize how challenging you were when you were a Padawan." Obi-Wan said smugly, giving Anakin a side-long glance.

"What?" Anakin had only caught half of what his former Master had said. "I wasn't a chanllegning Padawan!" he protested when he went over what Obi-Wan had said.

"Yes you most certainly were! Always getting into trouble! The amount of times I had to save you or apologize on your behalf-"

"Which was barely ever!" Anakin interupted. They both shared a laugh at the face Obi-Wan pulled.

"This is your karma, Luke's having you running after him, isn't he?" Obi-Wan asked, a teasing smile on his face. "I pretty sure the all the Jedi know about his little climbing the Temple stunt, and how you had to chase after him." Obi-Wan couldn't conceal his laughter at Anakin's stricken face.

"B-but how?" the tips of ears turned red in embarrassment causing Obi-Wan to laugh even harder.

"News get's around fast. Oh, and probably because around twenty Jedi could see the whole thing unfolding." his laughing died down as Anakin gave an exasperated sigh.

He tuned out what Obi-Wan was saying, choosing to mull over everything that had happened so far; a mysterious boy appears randomly in the temple, claiming to be from the future with an uncanny resemblance to himself.

Anakin knew that were was something amiss, he couldn't explain the weird connection he felt to Luke, nor could he explain why he felt so protective over him. He mulled over these thoughts, his face relaxing into one of confusion.

Obi-Wan decided to leave Anakin to his thoughts and instead focus on steering the ship.

* * *

Luke peeked round the corner of the wall he was hiding behind, eyes darting all over the place for any sign of a particular Chancellor. Deciding that the coast was clear, he stepped out from his hiding place with an audible sigh of relief.

He had managed to avoid Palpatine for five hours so far, but it had reached lunchtime and he had to admit that he was hungry.

Making a bee-line to the cantine, he let out a yell of surprise as a hand clamped down on his shoulder. He roughly shrugged it off, finding himself face-to-face to the one man he had been trying to avoid.

"The majority of the Jedi should be busy eating, so now is your chance to have a bit of time to fly. I'd suggest not staying for longer than an hour, because the Jedi usually finish their lunch within that span of time." Palpatine explained, guiding Luke towards the hangar bay.

Keeping as much distance between them as possible, Luke followed the Chancellor warily towards the hangar bay, keeping an eye out for any Jedi who might question them.

"Here you go. I suggest you take this ship, it's not too big and not too small. The name of it seems to have escaped me, however..." Palpatine's voice trailed off as he watched Luke's eyes light up happily.

"Names don't matter, what matters is that I get to fly!" Luke hurried round to the pilot's side, flinging the door open and hopping inside.

Palpatine watched as Luke easily guided the ship out the hangar bay, soaring off into the sky.

"Be careful, Starkiller...we wouldn't want anything to happen to you now..." He murmured, a sinister grin on his face. He silently left the hangar bay, strolling calmly through the corridors.

The grin never left his face though. Everything was going to plan, and he was _happy_.

* * *

Luke had never felt so alive! He hadn't realized how much he missed flying since he had been preoccupied with his father and Palpatine and well, _everything _that had happened so far.

He let out a small whoop of joy as he whirled around way above the general traffic that seemed permanently present on Coruscant. Luke would cherish every single moment he had out in the sky, knowing that he had a time limit.

Luke knew all too well how quickly time seemed to pass him by when he was flying.

**Boom!**

The small-ish shuttle rattled violently as another much larger ship shot at it. Surging into action, Luke activated the ship's emergency defense system. He hadn't flown any ship like this before since none were around in the future, and Luke had only noted the ship's emergency defense panel when he had gotten in; a pilot always had to know where it was on any ship.

**Alert, emergency defense system has been disabled. **

"What?!" Luke yelled, slamming his hand flat on the panel. He dodged another shot and tried to turn it on. "It can't be disabled!" another shot damaged one of the engine's, and warning light's started to flash in the cockpit.

"Stars stars stars!" Luke murmured, flicking the emergency stabilizer switch on.

**Alert, emergency stabilizers have been disabled. **

Luke gaped uncomprehendingly at the situation he was in. Narrowly avoiding another blast form the mysterious attacker, Luke swerved sharply around and started to fly back to the Temple. He hadn't flown too far away from it thankfully, though he prayed the ship could hold out until he got back...

He sighed in relief, the large temple coming into sight. His relief was short lived however, when the right wing burst into flames.

The ship went into sharp dive, Luke trying to bring it up desperately.

_I'm not going to make it! I have to eject! Please say that this ship has an eject button... _some luck seemed to be with him that day as he saw the handle that would eject him.

_No time for a parachute, have to wait for the right moment... _sweat had started to trickle down his neck, his heart beating much too fast for his liking. Luke could see the ground becoming increasingly closer, terror spiked through him as he pulled the handle, he was flung out the cockpit just in time, the ship crashing into the gardens.

_Luckily people are still having lunch, at least no one was hurt... _Luke soon realized that perhaps he himself would be hurt though, as he rushed to meet the ground dizzyingly fast.

He had ejected over the Jedi Temple's gardens for a reason though. He had hoped that he would land in one of the tall tree's. Luke didn't land in them, though they _did _slow his descent down whilst giving him some smacks to the face and the rest of his body.

He finally landed on the ground with a dull thud, pain radiating from his head more than anything. The familiar soothing presence of his father was in his mind, he could vaguely hear his voice...saying something...but what?

Luke didn't have any time to further ponder over the matter as darkness slowly overtook him.

* * *

Terror. Ice-cold, heart stopping terror jolted Anakin awake. At first he thought he had been dreaming, but he soon realized that the feeling wasn't his own, it was someone else's.

_But whose? _He wondered, blinking the sleep out of his eyes.

Luke. Luke was in danger, he wasn't sure how they had a such a strong bond that he would be receiving his feelings so clearly, but he wasn't exactly focused on that.

"Obi-Wan, Luke's in danger! We have to get back to the Temple, now!" Anakin shouted, snatching the controls from Obi-Wan's hands.

"What? Anakin, we are nearly there, you cannot go speeding recklessly through the traffic! I'm sure Luke is fine-" Obi-Wan tried to reason.

"No! I felt it, through the Force! We have to get back!" Anakin's mentor had never seen the young man so distressed before. He reasoned that Anakin must have a good reason for being so anxious, and allowed the young man to fly them back to the Temple at a dizzying speed.

_**Luke? Luke can you hear me? Hold on..! **_He received no reply through the Force.

They both knew as soon as they saw the Temple come into view that something had happened, the Force was practically screaming it out to them. It didn't help that there was a crashed ship in the gardens, mangling everything that had come in it's path.

Anakin tried testing the newly-discovered link he and Luke shared, curious as to how it formed. Usually it took years for two people to create one, and yet they shared one already.

It was cloudy and indistinct, meaning Luke was unconcious, or worse, _dying_. Anakin was already racing through the halls of the Temple, following Luke's Force Signature.

He was going to find out what had happened, and if someone was to blame...well, he'd make them pay.


	5. Lies

**Chapter Five: Lies**

"What happened?!" Anakin demanded as soon as he saw Luke unconscious in the medical bay. He rushed over, taking in Luke's appearance; bruises mottled his face and arms, and Anakin guessed that his torso was no better. A particularly deep gash was being checked over by a medic, Anakin watched critically as the man reapplied some bacta patches to Luke.

"Kenobi, Skywalker, you're back early from your mission." Mace Windu observed, standing next to Yoda.

"Luke's lying in bed unconscious and you're talking about how _early _we are?" Anakin fumed.

"Anakin, release your anger into the Force; we will find out what happened to Luke. Mace, if you could inform us?" Obi-Wan asked, stepping in before Anakin landed himself in trouble.

"Starkiller was found unconscious in the gardens, it seemed he had taken one of the ships from the hangar bay and had crashed." Mace explained, his eyes not once leaving Anakin's.

"Believe he was attacked, we do." Yoda said, hobbling forwards on his walking stick. He perched himself on a chair, a thoughtful expression on his face.

"_Attacked_? What do you mean _attacked_? You could have mentioned that earlier!" a warning glance from Obi-Wan helped Anakin reign in his growing temper. If he wanted to find out anything useful, he'd have to be calm and act mature; he didn't want Mace to throw him out the medical bay.

"The ship shows signs of being attacked, the right wing had been on fire and one of the engine's were damaged. We believe that this is what caused Luke to crash land." Anakin started to pace up down, his mind working furiously. There was no logical explanation for why Luke was attacked.

"Explain to the Council what happened, he will. Inform the council we must." Mace followed Yoda out, sending Anakin another glare.

"When he awakens, bring him to Council room straight away." Anakin nodded, gritting his teeth. Sometimes he just _hated _Mace, always bossing him around and glaring at him.

He turned his attention to Luke, the young man's discomfort rang softly throughout the Force. Anakin sent a gentle wave of calmness at him, relaxing slightly when Luke was once again at peace.

"Why would anyone want to attack Luke, Obi-Wan? It just doesn't make sense. No one here knows him, not well enough to have a grudge against him. He's from the _future _for Force sake...it doesn't make sense." Anakin shook his head, perplexed and without an answer.

"Trust the Force, Anakin. We will find the answers we are looking for in due time. Luke is strong, he will get through this." he paused and placed a hand on Anakin's shoulder. "Shall we go get something to eat? I'm starving, and I'm sure you are too."

"But Luke..."

"Will still be here when we get back." Obi-Wan and Anakin left the medical bay, not noticing the lone figure who stood at the end of the hall, hidden in the shadows.

* * *

Blinking, Luke rolled over and sighed; he could tell he was in the medical bay due to the smell of disinfectant and overall cleanliness. He opened his eyes, hissing as the bright light attacked them.

"I'm glad to see you are awake." Luke focused his gaze at the figure who sat at the end of his bed. He rubbed the blurriness out of his eyes, shaking his head in the vain attempt to get rid of his growing head ache.

Glaring, Luke pulled himself up so that he was leaning against his pillows. "You tried to kill me!" he growled, watching as the man's eyes widened dramatically.

"_Me_? Why would I try and kill you? No, you have it all wrong! I had no idea that you were going to be attacked." Palpatine said, stepping forwards, hands out stretched as if to pat Luke on his leg.

"Oh really? Well how come the stabilizers _and _the defense system were disabled? The emergency back up ones no less!" Luke's voice had slowly raised until he was shouting.

"Be quiet." the Chancellor ordered, all air of friendliness evaporating.

"You're awake!" Luke instantly relaxed as his father came bursting through the medical bay's doors, a large smile lighting up his features.

He checked Luke over intensely with his eyes, making sure he really was okay. Overcome with the urge to hug him, Anakin settled for a thumping his back instead.

Luke took in his father's appearance; his long hair was looking more disheveled than usual, he was slightly out of breath as if he had been running and...there was some food stains on his tunic. Anakin noticed Luke's eyebrows rise as he took in his appearance.

"Oh, I was eating but then I...came to see if you were awake." he explained, rubbing the back of his head nervously. "Oh, Chancellor, how rude of me, I didn't see you there."

Palpatine chuckled and waved his hand dismissively, assuring Anakin that it was fine.

"I had just come to check on young Starkiller here." Luke glared up at him, an insult on the tip of his tongue.

"I'm sorry Luke, but the Council ordered that as soon as you were awake you were to be brought to them. You can come too, Chancellor, if you wish." Anakin offered, hovering next to Luke in case he needed help.

"If you don't mind, I'd like to come along." Palptine agreed, hand clasped behind his back.

They walked slowly to the Jedi Council's room, Luke the slowest of them all since he needed to regain the feeling in his legs; he had a terrible case of pins and needles and it took all of his resolve not to flop onto the ground and call it a day.

Many of the Jedi who were walking through the halls regarded the trio curiously, though none made any move to speak to them.

_I _know _that Palpatine was behind that attack! It's too much of a coincidence! He just _happened _to pick a ship that'd been tampered with...I bet he was hoping that I'd get killed. _

Trying to ignore how easily Anakin and Palpatine conversed, Luke instead focused on getting his story straight. _I'll just say I wasn't aware of the rules, and that Palpatine said I could go flying and the I'll explain about how he tampered with the ship and tried to get me killed! _

Maybe _then _his father would see what a treacherous old man his _beloved _Chancellor was.

* * *

"You have a lot of explaining to do, Starkiller. I suggest you start talking." Mace ordered, fixing Luke with one of his infamous glares. Luke felt pretty intimidated, having the most powerful Jedi sitting high above him, judging him, (apart from his father though, who was standing next to him in the middle of the room).

"Well, the _Chancellor _said I could go flying, because he thought I'd be bored being cooped up in the Temple all day, so obviously I said yes and then he took me to the hangar bay and told me to take the ship that I had crashed in the gardens. So I was flying and then someone just starts _attacking_ me, I didn't even know who they were, so I tried to turn the emergency stabilizers and defense systems on, but _somehow _they'd been disabled." Luke shot Palpatine an accusatory glare whilst crossing his arms.

The Council sat in silence, staring down at Luke. He could tell his Father was staring at him incredulously.

"So you're saying that the Supreme Chancellor let you go out on a..._joyride_?" one the council members asked, his voice seemingly asking, 'do you think we're stupid?'.

When put like that, the whole thing sounded silly to his own ears, but Luke _knew _what had happened. "Yes, he tried to kill me! He had obviously tampered with the ship before hand-"

"Enough." Mace interrupted, his voice conveying how skeptical he was. "We will review the recordings of the hangar bay, and see if what you said is true." Luke flashed a triumphant grin at Palpatine. There was no way he could lie himself out of _this _situation.

_He looks a bit too calm though... _Luke bit his lip nervously. What if Palpatine just decided to kill everyone in the room because of him? Luke snorted quietly to himself, as if that would happen...he was getting ahead of himself.

Everyone watched the screen apprehensively; so far the hangar bay was empty...and there Luke was, walking along. He stood still for a moment, his head turned around and he ran into the ship. He had been alone during the video footage.

"But-what? He...I'm not lying! The Chancellor must have messed around with the security footage! Why would I lie about this?" Luke should have known the Sith Lord would have done something like this.

"Lying, he is not. Confirm it with the Force, you should." Yoda glanced around at the other Council members, who took a moment to confirm it themselves.

"It seems that young Starkiller here is confused. I had offered to look after him in Anakin's absence...yet I couldn't find him anywhere. During this incident I was eating some lunch at the cantine." Palpatine offered his version of events.

"Lies!" Luke shouted. "You no good rotten liar-"

"Perhaps someone used a mind trick on him, someone trying to frame the Chancellor?" Anakin put in, stepping forwards so he was slightly in front of Luke. "I'm sure Luke wouldn't lie about this. The Chancellor has many enemies who are jealous of him, and perhaps they are trying to get him in trouble." Luke stared at his father's back; by telling everyone what the Chancellor had done, he had hoped that Anakin would start to distrust the old man-not try and defend him!

"It is possible that one of the Jedi in the Temple has a vendetta against the Chancellor. I can already think of several people who would have access to security tapes _and _capable tricking Luke into thinking the Chancellor was responsible." One of the Council members spoke up, leaning forwards to look at Luke.

"Investigate the matter, we will. Go rest, you should." Yoda commanded, and that signaled the end of the meeting.

"So that's _it_? Why are you acting so casual about this? _Someone tried to kill me_!" Luke yelled, shoving away Anakin's arm that blocked him.

"No, we are Jedi and as such stay calm and level-headed. Just because we are not jumping out of our seats with cries of outrage does not mean we not taking this seriously." one of the members snapped. Luke flushed and muttered something under his breath before turning his back to the Council.

"You're walking a fine line, Starkiller." Mace threatened. Luke didn't acknowledge what he said, and instead marched briskly out of the room with Anakin. He was vaguely aware of Palpatine trailing out behind them, a worried expression on his face.

"Anakin, I _do _fear for Luke's safety now that it's apparent someone is trying to get to me through him." He expressed his 'concern', placing a withered hand on Anakin's arm.

"Don't worry Chancellor, I'll do everything in my power to make sure neither you or Luke are harmed. Well figure this out." Anakin replied, sending them both a serious look.

_For someone so smart, he sure is stupid enough not to see what's right in front of him! I can't believe he's believing this old man rather than his own son! _Luke thought hotly, clenching and unclenching his hands. He felt oddly betrayed by Anakin.

_Ah, ah, ah, _a small voice chided in his head, _he doesn't _know _that you're his son. _

"I don't know what you're up to, but I _will _find out. You may be able to manipulate everyone here, masquerading around like you're on our side...but I see through your lies." Luke took a deep breath to calm himself. He was a Jedi now, and Jedi _always _have control over their emotions, he would not let Palpatine win.

Putting on his best poker-face that Han had taught him, Luke turned on his heel and marched away, hoping he had done a fairly good imitation of what Leia would do when she was offended.

Luke heard Palpatine faintly say, "oh dear", and Anakin's cry of, "Luke wait!", but he didn't stop; he had work to do.


	6. Tainted by the Darkside

**_AN: My memory of what happens in ROTS is kinda fuzzy, it's been a while since I've last watched the film, and I'm feeling far too lazy to refresh my memory on Wookiepedia, so if I randomly include stuff from the movie that doesn't happen in order (though I'll try my best to make it accurate) we'll simply say that events have been disrupted because of Luke's sudden appearance :D next chapter will be focused more on Luke and Anakin :3_**

* * *

**Chapter Six: Tainted by the Darkside**

It was inside the cantine that Anakin found Luke Skywalker; the latter of the two was looking out of one of the numerous windows, eyes glazed over as he watched the rain fall. He was deep in thought, unaware of anything that was happening around him.

Anakin deliberated on whether or not he should alert the young man of his presence, but decided to simply sit diagonally opposite him with his tray of breakfast. His eyes wandered over Luke's face, drinking in his appearance.

What was it about that particular young man? What was it about his young, childish features and blue eyes that drew him in? Anakin _hated _that fact that he _knew _he was missing something...something so blatantly obvious that he felt like a fool.

"Anakin? When did you get here?" a startled voice interrupted Anakin's brooding, though his mood lightened considerably when Luke had finally realized he was there.

"You weren't in your room so I assumed you came down here to get some food...and I was right." Anakin smirked at Luke's tray which was cluttered with an assortment of food. Luke flushed in embarrassment as the barely nibbled food on his tray.

"Yeah, I kinda woke up early and didn't want to bother you." He mumbled, his mind once again drifting off towards the thought of his plan.

_Well not a plan per se...more like an idea. _Luke amended. Indeed, he had mulled over the past events with growing ire to Palpatine's interference. How did the rest of the Jedi _do _it? Even when all Luke caught was a mere glimpse of the man he had to control the need to kill him.

He felt guilty that he let his emotions run so deep with hatred for the man, but it couldn't be helped. He _had _to change his future, he doubted that the Force would mysteriously throw him into the past so that he could simply observe events unfold-especially when he had the power to change things.

"What do you want to do today?" Luke finally asked, feeling every bit his age and older. It must have shown on his face (that or he was unintentionally broadcasting it) because Anakin glanced thoughtfully up at the ceiling.

"I'm not sure...it's raining quite heavily so unless you want to get soaking wet, I'd suggest something we could do _inside _the Temple." A teasing grin found it's way onto Anakin's face as he regarded Luke with kind eyes.

"Force I don't know, you live here not me! Let's just see where our feet take us." Luke suggested, standing up and regretfully emptying his tray. He felt bad for wasting so much food, he remembered those rare times when Owen and Beru had barely managed to scrape enough food together for them all.

Anakin and Luke walked around in companionable silence; they didn't need to speak, instead they both simply enjoyed each other's presence. It was one of the rare times that Anakin didn't feel as if the weight of the world rested on his shoulders, and for that he was eternally grateful for Luke.

"Looking for you both, I have been." Yoda's voice suddenly sounded from in front of them. Both Skywalker's jumped simultaneously. Yoda looked up at them, a knowing look in his eyes.

"Master Yoda." Anakin greeted.

"Needed you are, by Obi-Wan. Hangar bay you will find him." Yoda looked expectantly at Anakin, who hesitated before quickly turning to Luke.

"I'll find you later, okay?" He walked briskly away, resisting the urge to glance over his shoulder.

Luke was suddenly nervous; what if Yoda wanted to ask him some difficult questions, one's that he could not answer? He could never lie to the old Jedi Master, back on Dagobah Luke had quickly learned that it was near impossible.

"Come with me." Yoda turned around and hobbled down the hallway. Luke was surprised to find himself striding to match pace with the little green Jedi.

* * *

"Obi-Wan, Master Yoda said you needed me?" Anakin asked, raising an eye-brow at how his friend was bent over his ship.

"Just the person I need! Something's wrong with the ship, and for the life of me I simply can't figure out what's gone wrong...and I'd rather you look at it than the mechanics." Obi-Wan admitted sheepishly, stepped aside to let his former Padawan take over. Knowing Anakin the ship would be fixed in less than 5 minutes, Obi-Wan himself had probably made everything worse just by fiddling with it.

Holding in a chuckle, Obi-Wan summoned a chair over and sat next to Anakin, absent-mindedly watching his hands skillfully move over the wires.

"How's Luke?" Obi-Wan asked, trying to make casual conversation. Anakin paused to flash him an award-winning smile.

"He's fine! I've really grown to like him, it's strange really..." his voice trailed off as he once again started to fix the ship.

"Hm...well...any idea's as to who could be after Luke or the Chancellor?" At this Anakin completely stopped and faced his mentor.

"No, I stayed up late meditating but...I got no answers from the Force." Anakin dragged his fingers through his hair roughly and slumped down on his stool. "I just don't understand Obi-Wan."

The older of the two nodded sympathetically, though he chose his next words carefully.

"The Council are wary of the Chancellor, Anakin. It would be wise for you to be not so...close with him anymore." Obi-Wan wasn't prepared for the pure onslaught of raw emotion from the younger man.

"What are you saying Obi-Wan? Are you saying that you don't trust me? The Chancellor? My _judgement_? I've known that man since the first day I got here at the Temple! He's been nothing but a mentor and friend to me, even when the Council have doubted me-_you _even-he's always been there! And now you want me to turn my back on him?" Anakin stood up, his stool toppling over.

To say Obi-Wan was alarmed at the sudden turn the conversation had taken would be an understatement; he had merely suggested in a neutral tone about the Council's concerns involving the Chancellor...and Anakin had flown into a rage!

"Anakin, please sit down. You seem to have misunderstood me-"

"I misunderstood _nothing_. I can't believe you'd stoop down to the Council's level and ask such a thing of me. You should know me better than that." Anakin had been nearly shouting earlier, but now his voice had lowered, restraining himself form raising his voice again. His eyes flashed with anger, and for once in his life Obi-Wan felt as if he did not know who he was looking at.

"Anakin please, you're completely over-reacting!" Obi-Wan exclaimed, blocking Anakin from leaving.

"Move out of my way." Anakin snarled in a way that was so unlike him Obi-Wan stepped back, shock clearly visible in his blue-green eyes.

He watched the young man storm out the hangar bay, his presence tainted with darkness. Obi-Wan made a mental note to step carefully when talking about Chancellor Palpatine in future...

* * *

"Much like your Father, you are." Yoda broke the silence that they had lapsed into as they stepped into an empty room. There was a table with chairs around it, a large window over-looked Coruscant.

Luke would've taken the time to enjoy the view if it weren't for Yoda's blunt statement.

"W-what? I don't know what you're-"

"Think me a fool, you do, hmm?" Yoda asked indignantly, whacking Luke none to gently on his shin with his walking stick. "Think that I would not notice, you did?" another whack, and Luke fell backwards whilst trying to massage them.

"Master Yoda...I didn't, I just thought..." Stars, how did he _know_? He thought he had shielded himself perfectly, he had spent months practicing to try and keep Vader out of his head.

"Call me Grand Jedi Master for nothing, they do not." Yoda leaned on his stick towards Luke who had crossed his legs in an attempt to make himself comfortable.

"I'm sorry I kept it secret from you, but I can't let anyone find out. _Especially _my father." Luke stressed, an odd feeling enveloping him as he uttered the phrase. "Who knows what would happen then?"

"Wise decision that is. Find out he must not." He paused and stared intently at Luke's small form on the floor. "Sense great loss and fear from you, I do." Yoda waited for the young man to elaborate on what he'd said.

"The Force sent me here for a reason...to do something...but I am not sure as to what. I've spent the last few days trying to figure it out but..." Luke trailed of miserably, the full extent of his situation hitting him hard; he wasn't even sure if Anakin had begun his fall or not, stars, he didn't even have a _plan _on how to save him!

"Do this alone, you do not have to. Help you, the Council will." Luke shook his head.

"Thank-you, but I feel that this is something that I must do alone, myself. Does the rest of the Council know that Anakin's my father?" Luke asked nervously. He'd hate to have gotten his father in trouble. Knowing Mace Windu he'd use this as an excuse to kick Anakin out of the order!

"Very well. Do as you see fit, you should. If you should need help, here to speak I am." Yoda gestured towards the door, and Luke took that as his que to leave.

"Thank-you." Luke said sincerely. He felt better knowing that someone else knew about his father.

Stepping into the hallway, Luke located his father's Force signature before walking to find him. He wasn't in the hangar bay anymore, so he simply let the Force guide him. Something was wrong though, Anakin didn't feel _right_. He didn't feel bright and warm like Luke had become accustomed to...no, he was tainted by something darker.

"Fa-Anakin!" Luke exclaimed, catching sight of the young man. Anakin didn't acknowledge him though, choosing instead to brush past him without even a glance in his direction, a fierce scowl on his face. Luke watched as his father stomped down the hallway before turning round the corner and out of sight.

He was tainted with the Darkside.

Fearing that he was too late, Luke rushed after him, his heart pounding uncontrollably, pumping adrenaline through him.

Luke wondered what had gotten his father in such a dangerous mood, and instantly blamed Palpatine. He _would _save his father, even if it was the last thing he did.


	7. Chasing Anakin

**Chapter Seven: Chasing Anakin **

The rain had faded into a light drizzle that made the Jedi gardens sparkle. It was truly a beautiful sight, one that Anakin would find time to admire in great detail; even after all his years on Coruscant, rain still made him stop and stare in wonder, since it was so rare on Tatooine.

After an argument with Obi-Wan, Anakin would usually head straight to the gardens so that he could calm himself down. This time however, Anakin could only think of finding his trusted friend Palpatine and complain about Obi-Wan and the Council.

His fellow Jedi avoided Anakin like the plague, creating a path for him as he stormed down the hallways, his anger suffocating the air around him.

_I thought Obi-Wan was was better than the Council! He _knows _how close the Chancellor and I am, I can't believe he'd even think about- _

"Anakin, wait!" Through the foggy haze his anger had cast over his mind, Anakin heard someone call his name. Thinking it was his mentor (the _last _person he wanted to see), Anakin increased his pace, a cutting remark on the edge of his tongue.

_He's fast... _Luke grit his teeth and tried to look inconspicuous as possible. He saw a few wary Jedi glance at him before moving their attention elsewhere. Nearly jogging to keep up with his father's long strides, Luke decided to simply follow his father until he grew tired and stopped.

* * *

Anakin didn't grow tired.

Luke quickly learnt this when his father stormed out of the Temple and hailed the nearest taxi. Pausing momentarily, Luke watched suspiciously as Anakin got in and slammed the door. He watched as it took off, the small yellow speeder disappearing into the Coruscant traffic.

Luke waved his arms about dramatically until he got the attention of another taxi, keeping one eye on his father's whereabouts through the Force, he directed the taxi driver on where to go. At times he thought he had completely lost Anakin's signature, but it was never the case.

The taxi driver was becoming increasingly irritated with Luke's vague instructions on where to go (_the boy obviously doesn't know where he's going, _the man thought contemptuously).

"Listen kid," the man started, immediately reminding Luke of Han, "just tell me where you want to go and I can get you there no problem." Luke's concentration on his father's Force signature wavered for a second.

"No, it's fine. I know where I'm going. Turn uh, turn right here...or...yeah here. Sorry." Luke added, flushing red at the man's exasperated sigh.

* * *

Anakin threw a fistful of credits at his driver before slamming his door shut. His anger had died down slightly, but he still felt rather indignant and betrayed by Obi-Wan _and _the Council. He knew where he would find the Chancellor; The Republic Executive Building. The Chancellor's office was on one of the top most floors, which was well over 500 meters tall as it overlooked Coruscant.

Anakin walked in, ignoring the secretary who rudely called after him. He got in the turbo-lift and waited impatiently as it ascended.

"Stop!" Luke yelled in the driver's ear, making the man jump.

"You could have just said you wanted The Republic Executive Building, jeez." the man said gruffly, readjusting his rear-view mirror.

"Huh? Oh uh, thanks." Luke fumbled around with the few loose credits he had on him before swiftly getting out.

The building was rather plain, and didn't particularly stand out. It was very high though, and Luke wondered what his father could possibly be doing in such a place. Opening the door and peeking in, Luke spotted a young woman who was sitting behind a desk.

"Uh, hi." Luke mumbled, strolling over. She glanced up, taking in his more than scruffy appearance.

"Don't tell me you're going to barge in here and completely ignore me too?" she asked sarcastically, sniffing dissaprovingly at him. Luke instantly didn't like her but struggled to keep up his friendliness.

"Have you seen a young man come in here? Blue eyes, blonde hair about this tall...?" Luke gestured vaguely above his head, and the woman sniffed again.

"Yes, _he _was the one who barged in and completely ignored me-"

"Do you know where he went?" Luke interrupted; he was in no mood to deal with this lady.

They stared at each other in a tense silence before she sighed disgustedly and pushed her glasses up her nose.

"Yes, as a matter of fact I do. He went into the lift." Luke waited for her to continue, but when it became evident that she wasn't, he rolled his eyes and huffed childishly.

"Thanks." He strode purposefully towards the lift, ignoring the woman's indignant cries. Following his feelings in the Force, Luke pressed floor button 501 and waited.

_What are you doing here, father? _Luke thought to himself silently, hoping that Anakin had reigned in his temper.

* * *

Anakin had always felt at home in the Chancellor's Ceremonial Office. He would find himself absent-mindedly admiring the panoramic view of the city.

It was beautiful.

He knocked hesitantly on the door, worried that Palpatine was in a meeting. After a few seconds of standing there foolishly, Anakin turned to leave, his ears burning with embarrassment.

"Anakin, to what do I owe the pleasure of this unexpected visit?" Palpatine's pleasant voice made Anakin turn around.

"Ah, Chancellor...I'm sorry, it was nothing, really. You are a busy man, and I wouldn't want to keep you from your work." Anakin mumbled. Honestly, he was 23, he couldn't keep running to the Chancellor every time he was upset!

"No, no! Come in, I'm free at the moment." He swept his arms wide, and let Anakin step into the cozy office.

For some reason, Anakin felt uncomfortable in such proximity to the man, Luke's exclamation echoing in his head _"He tried to kill me!"_

"What is troubling you, Anakin?" Palpatine asked, his voice coated with honey. His eyes twinkled kindly with a faint hint of worry. Anakin immediately relaxed, letting himself sink into the plush red chair.

"Well...Obi-Wan told me to stop being friends with you. He said the Council doesn't trust you, and that I would do well to be wary." Anakin explained, though he was suddenly unsure of what Obi-Wan had _actually _said. His mind had been clouded with anger, and he was sure that he was only saying what he _thought _Obi-Wan had said.

He couldn't be sure.

Palpatine's eyes narrowed dangerously before melting into the warm pools of blue Anakin was used to.

"I see. I assume you and Obi-Wan had a fight over the matter? I can feel your anger, it makes you-"

"ANAKIN!" both men turned around and gaped as a small blonde figure burst in and landed unceremoniously on the floor, a groan escaping from the huddled figure.

"Luke?!" Anakin gasped out, all traces of his anger disappearing at the sight of the young man. Luke looked up, electric blue eyes shining at him.

"Hello." Luke greeted casually, as if lying on the Chancellor's office floor was an everyday occurrence.

As soon as Luke had stepped out of the lift, he had finally identified the Force presence that seemed to darken the whole building; Palpatine. Luke could have have hit himself on the head.

_Of course father would go running to Palpatine after a fight with Ben! _He berated himself before stilling behind the door. He could hear the muffled voices of the two men behind it, and Luke grit his teeth in annoyance.

_Only Force knows what lies Palpatine is feeding father whilst he's in such a vulnerable state! I have to stop him! _Bolstering up all the courage he could find, Luke flung the door open, intending to rescue his father from the Chancellor's evil hands...only to promptly trip over his own feet in his haste and land ungracefully on the floor.

"Luke?!" He heard his startled father gasp.

Luke looked up nonchalantly and sent his father a small smile, "Hello."

"Luke what are you _doing_?!" Anakin was by Luke's side in an instant, dragging him up and staring intently into his eyes. His hands fluttered over Luke, checking that he wasn't injured.

"I'm fine, honestly." Luke rolled his eyes and batted his father's hovering hand's away from him. He was delighted to find all traces of darkness had left his father. Instead, he could sense an almost childish light surrounding him, and Luke let it wash over him...until it was smothered the darkness that could only come from Palpatine.

"Luke Starkiller, what an unexpected surprise." Palpatine bared his teeth in a poor imitation of a smile, and Luke knew that the Chancellor was not happy about his arrival. Standing next to his father, Luke drew in a deep breath and squared his shoulder's, glaring acidicly at the older man.

"Luke, why are you here?" Anakin asked, then paused consideringly, "Did Obi-Wan send you after me?" The young man's gaze hardened considerably as it turned into a glare. Luke swallowed; he had more than the Chancellor to deal with now.

He had his seriously annoyed father.


	8. From Bad Day to Good Day

_**Sorry for the slow update, but my laptop broke! So if I don't update as regularly as I used to it's because I haven't been able to, I'm not too sure when I'll be getting a new one...soon I hope :c oh and the scene at the end...uh, well the thought just randomly popped into my head and made me laugh because well, it's so weird xD but yeah, juss thrown in there because why not :D**_

* * *

**Chapter Eight: From Bad Day to Good Day**

"No, of course not!" the exclamation had left Luke's lips before he had even thought about it. His Father gazed down at him, his eyes cold and unforgiving.

"Then how come you're here? How did you know where to find me?" Anakin hissed, barely managing from holding back his growing anger.

"I saw you were upset and I—I followed you." Luke mumbled as an embarrassed flush slowly crept up his neck. He warily eyed Anakin's mechanical hand as it clenched and unclenched.

Palpatine watched as the two men stood facing each other, one with an angry scowl settled upon his features and the other one excluding a childish countenance. He linked his fingers together and closed his eyes as he felt the raw power radiating off of Anakin. The mere thought of what he could accomplish sent shivers up his spine.

He would become a powerful Sith.

The Chancellor was roused from his musings of power when Anakin exhaled noisily through his nose. The young man closed his eyes and released his anger into the Force—though a few tendrils of darkness still clung to his aura.

"I'm sorry Luke. I had no reason to be so angry…I don't know what came over me…and for that, I apologize." Anakin gazed down at the young man, the words sounding forced even to his on ears. His tense posture and grit teeth probably didn't help his poor excuse of an apology either.

Luke shot an accusing glare at the Chancellor, who immediately schooled his features into one of mild concern. He walked towards them, smoothing out the wrinkles in his robes as he did.

"Does anyone from the Temple know you are here, m'boy? I would hate for something to happen like the unfortunate incident that happened not too long ago. Perhaps you should return now; Anakin will be there soon enough." One of his hands found its way on to Luke's shoulder where it rested, nails lightly pinching at his skin.

"Actually, they _do _know. I told uh, I told the people at the doors." Luke finished lamely, shoulders drooping slightly at his hastily constructed lie. "Maybe you should go and fix things with Obi-Wan? I'm sure he meant no offence." Luke suggested, completely ignoring Palpatine and instead turning his attention to his Father.

Anakin's temper flared up at the mention of his mentor, though it calmed almost instantly to a low annoyance. He rolled his eyes and dragged a hand over his face, sighing warily in defeat. Luke frowned as he looked at him; for once, he didn't see a hero or the Chosen One, neither did he see a skilled Jedi.

Instead, all he could see was a confused young man who grasped on to any form of support and held it tight; as if afraid it would disappear. Anakin looked much older than twenty-three, and for the first time Luke saw the dark circles that were around his eyes. He vaguely wondered if his Father was sleeping well.

Reaching out a hand, he stopped mid-way and let it fall limply to his side.

"I'll go and make amends with Obi-Wan." Anakin stated, brushing past the two men as he headed straight to the exit. "Are you coming, Luke?"

Luke chewed his lip before drawing himself up to his depressingly short height.

"No, I've been meaning to talk to the Chancellor for a while. Cover for me, if you would be so kind?" his voice took a half sarcastic manner as he waved good-bye to Anakin, who in return gave a strained smile before leaving.

_It seems that he's still a bit angry… _Luke thought morosely before turning back to the Chancellor. Even though Luke was a good few centimetres taller than the older man, he certainly felt dwarfed by him; even as a deceptively nice looking old man, Palpatine still excluded power and authority, although not the good kind.

"Listen," Luke started of hotly, throwing caution to the wind in his anger, "I don't know what you're trying to do to my—to Anakin, but you better stop! The rest of the Jedi may be blind to your…your _deceptive _appearance, but I'm not!" Luke spat, glaring dangerously into the old man's eyes.

Palpatine laughed, a shrill, cruel one that had Luke stepping away from him uncertainly.

"Indeed young Starkiller, you are certainly full of surprises!" He chuckled again, this time a bit more calmly. "I can assure you that I only have Anakin's _best _interests at heart. I have come to see him as my own son, in a way. You must understand that I only wish to help him, to make him realise his true potential...as I could with you, if you let me." He finished slyly, and overly-kind smile on his face.

Luke's naïve farm-boy-self came into play as he stared at Palpatine, unsure as to what he was suggesting. A frown appeared on his face as he finally made sense of what he had said.

"I—I'm not…you won't do anything!" Luke declared, his sense of justice overwhelming him.

"Then you are a fool." Palpatine hissed, his friendly grand-pa countenance swiftly evaporating. He took two steps towards Luke menacingly, his eyes slits, a snarl on his face.

"What are you doing?" Luke asked, proud that his voice did not waver.

"Come now _Starkiller_, let us not play this foolish game anymore. You are but a mere hindrance in the greater scheme of things, the Jedi having corrupted your mind with foolish ideas effectively blinding you to the truth." In one quick motion, Palpatine has seized the front of Luke's shirt and had roughly thrust him in the position of the door, patting his hair down unfazed when Luke crashed into the wall.

"Say hello to Anakin for me, would you? As Chancellor, I am a busy man m'boy, so this visit must be cut short." Luke stood half crumpled against the wall in a befuddled looking state when three important looking men walked in.

They each took in Luke's dishevelled appearance, and raised questioning eyebrows at the Chancellor, who grinned amusedly.

"Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker had been assigned to watch over this young boy, he simply paid me a visit." Throwing a contemptuous look over his shoulder, Luke strode out of the room, retaining as much of his dignity as he could.

* * *

"There you are Luke! I was beginning to think you'd gotten lost!" Anakin yelled joyfully, bursting into Luke's room without hesitation. Luke started and fell back against his bed, heaving a sigh of relief when he saw it was only Anakin.

Luke had arrived back at the temple less than ten minutes ago, and Anakin, who was at the time having a duel with another Knight, nearly sliced the poor man's arm off when he had recognized Luke's Force Signature; he couldn't miss it, it shone out to him like a Lighthouse would shine during a storm.

Luke had been in a sour mood, his mind troubled with his latest encounter with the Chancellor, his shoulder aching dully from his run in with the wall.

_That old man is strong, I'll give him that. Best not to underestimate him again…_

Seeing his Father so happy to see him though had lifted his spirits instantly. He grinned abashedly as he slowly got up off of his bed, joining in as his father laughed at his reaction.

"How did your visit with the Chancellor go? I hope you two will get along better now, he's honestly a good man Luke!" wrinkling his nose in obvious disagreement, Luke shrugged his shoulders smiled innocently.

"I seem to recall you wanting to show me around Coruscant…?" Anakin smirked in reply and dragged Luke out of the room, listening as the younger of the two laughed playfully.

* * *

"…and here we are! The _best _ice-cream parlour in all of Coruscant!" Anakin declared, wrapping his arm around Luke's shoulders as he smiled proudly at where he had led them.

Upon leaving the Temple, Anakin had hailed the first taxi available and muttered something in the man's ear before giving Luke a smug side-glance. Luke had grown more and more anxious as to where they were going until they stopped on a relatively empty street.

Stepping out the speeder (after Anakin had paid the man), Luke had followed his Father's long strides until they both stood outside a small ice-cream parlour.

"Is the ice-cream better than the one's in the Temple? I mean, that's pretty good…" Luke trailed off as Anakin spun round to stare at him incredulously.

Snorting, he ran his fingers through his hair and smiled. "You think that's good? You've tasted nothing yet! Come on, I'll show you." Marching straight towards the counter after flinging the door open, Anakin waved to the man behind the counter and dragged a reluctant Luke after him.

"Jash, meet Luke. Luke this is Jash!" Luke shook hands with the short, chubby, red-haired man.

"Well nice ta' meet ya Luke. I hope yer' like me ice-cream, best in all o' Coruscant!" Luke smiled and nodded, the man's accent sounding odd to his ears.

Jash started to list all the flavours they had (which was well over fifty), and Luke only recognised a handful of them. Many were completely foreign to his ears, and he struggled to understand them with Jash's strong accent, so Luke went for the one flavour that was known through-out the galaxy; chocolate.

"Haha, good choice! I myself personally prefer vanilla…but seeing your one now…I think I'll have one too." Luke was handed a ridiculously large (in his opinion) glass practically over-flowing with chocolate ice-cream. Different sauces had been used, there were two flakes sticking out of the largest scoop and cherries and sprinkles added for effect. A radiant smile lit up Luke's face; he'd rarely had the chance to spoil himself with such a treat.

He immediately dug in, finding the small spoon he had been given wasn't adequate enough. He resorted to piling large amounts of ice-cream onto his spoon and messily shoving it into his mouth.

"You were right, this _is _better!" Luke mumbled through a mouthful of ice-cream.

"This is on tha' house! Have a good night ya here me?" Jash waved as the two departed from his store. Luke glanced at his reflection in the shop mirror; his mouth was covered in chocolate, he grimaced when he noticed that the tips of his fringe were stained with it too, and somehow a smudge of chocolate had found its way onto his nose.

"Tasty, right?" Anakin asked, appearing in a similar state to Luke, though less messy. "You see, I've tried all fifty-four flavours, and have perfected the art of not getting it all over my face." He teased.

"Not quite perfect yet." Luke smirked, swiping his finger across Anakin's forehead. He licked at his finger, and pouted. "Yours tastes better than mine…" he complained, rescuing the few globs of ice-cream that nearly dripped onto the floor.

"I've got a few other places I want to show you…have you ever heard of 'chicken chase'?"

"No…"

"It's where you fight on this giant wobbly platform over this tub of syrup, and whoever falls in first gets covered with it _and _has feathers thrown over them! Then the other person chases them…there's a really great prize for whoever wins…"

"Don't tell me…you want us to try?" Luke hid his smile in his glass, secretly finding the idea of his Father running around covered in feathers and syrup absurd.

"Of course," Anakin replied with a smirk, "Obi-Wan once took me there when I was younger as a treat for making my first Lightsaber…you should've seen him." Anakin then launched into the story of that fateful day where Obi-Wan had sworn to never play 'chicken chase' again.

It was a long time before they arrived back at the Temple, Anakin with a grumpy frown on his face and Luke with a triumphant grin.

Anakin was covered in feathers and syrup and was leaving a trail of mess in his wake, it didn't help that both men were covered in chocolate ice-cream either, but the pictures that Luke had been given of the event made it all worth-while.

"I'm getting you back for this." Anakin threatened, glaring playfully when he caught Obi-Wan's knowing smile.

"I'm sure you will." Luke said breezily, waving to his Father as they reached their rooms.

_It was definitely a good day. _He thought, drifting off into a peaceful sleep.

Unfortunately, things for the Skywalker Duo were about to get a lot worse…


	9. Stowaway

_**AN: Sorry it took so long to update, only just managed to get a computer to use. Still no new laptop D: oh well, this is kinda a filler to build up to whatever's gonna happen (making it up as I go along, bare with me people) ;D **  
_

* * *

**C****hapter Nine: Stowaway**

Luke could do nothing as the nightmare unfurled before his mind's eye; he was drenched in a cold sweat, the sheets tangled around his legs, immobilizing them. He knew he was dreaming, that much he was certain of, but he could do nothing to wake himself up.

_**A figure stood next to him as he gazed out into the wide, blue sky. He knew it was his father. Luke looked up at him, feeling truly at peace and content in the world…but something was wrong. Chains sprung up from the ground, capturing Anakin's wrists and ankles, dragging him to the ground. Luke cried out, unable to move, his fingers grasping at thin air…**_

_**Anakin cried out as he was dragged away from Luke, Palpatine standing in the background, grinning wickedly. Anakin slowly dissolved away only to be replaced with the familiar black armour Luke knew too well. **_

_**Darth Vader. **_

_**He stood by the Emperor's side, cold and calculating. Luke tried to call out, but his vocal chords had abandoned him. He reached out…fingers barely touching Vader's cape…**_

"Argh!" Luke shot up with a cry, shaking uncontrollably. His fingers tangled themselves in his duvet as he let out a strangled sigh of relief.

_A dream, Skywalker. It was only a dream, get a hold of yourself! _He briefly toyed with the idea of slapping himself round the face, just to see if he really was awake, but he didn't need to. His door was flung open and it banged against the wall with unnecessary force.

"Luke! Are you awake?" Luke rolled his eyes; only Anakin would burst into his room like that.

"Yeah, I am. And even if I wasn't the amount of noise you made would've woken me up." Luke teased, a small smile gracing his face.

"Hm." A serious expression made its way onto Anakin's face as he regarded Luke thoughtfully.

"What is it?" Luke finally asked, annoyed that his father hadn't said anything.

"What's wrong?" Anakin could tell something was wrong with Luke, though he wasn't sure what. For once, he had slept like the dead that night, nothing waking him from his sleep. He had only just woken up a few seconds ago when he decided to wake up Luke too.

Luke scowled at the older man and brushed his fingers hastily through his hair. He stood up, dragging his duvet onto the bed before stomping his way towards his Refresher.

"I'm fine. I'll meet you in the canteen." He snapped, sulking that his father walked in on him in a vulnerable state.

_He probably thinks I'm weak and pathetic, not being able to handle a few nightmares. _Luke thought to himself furiously, ignoring Anakin's presence.

* * *

Chancellor Palpatine sat reclined in his favourite chair; he watched the ever-present thrum of traffic crawl past his office, yet his mind was else-where.

Mainly, Luke.

He had become a problem; always hanging around with Anakin and pulling him away, his childish behaviour melting away all the hatred that Anakin had, ruining all his plans which had taken him _years_. Years of befriending the Chosen One, listening to him whine about one thing or another…Palpatine clenched his fist in anger.

The Force responded immediately, the air around him thickening and swirling like choppy water, suffocating nearly. He revelled in it, letting the darkness soak into him, and he absorbed it like a sponge.

"Starkiller…you've become a thorn in my side…" he murmured, riding from his seat. "Drastic measures must be taken…" he grimaced and stood from his chair, composing himself before fixing a fake mask of kindness on his face.

His office door opened and the annoying secretary walked in, her voice a mere grating sound to his ears.

_Soon…_he thought, nodding along to whatever drivel she was talking about, _soon I will rule the Galaxy…_

* * *

"This is stupid!" Luke yelled, pacing around the hallway outside the canteen angrily.

"I'm sorry Luke, but Anakin and I have a mission to attend to. It won't take too long; we'll be back before you know it." Obi-Wan explained calmly, his efforts to calm Luke were in vain though.

"Please let me come with you?" He directed to Anakin, clasping his hands in front of him desperately. He'd be damned if he was going to stay at the Temple, no, not this time. Luke scowled as Anakin opened his mouth with an apologetic look on his face.

"I'm sorry Luke, but what the Jedi Council orders are…well, final. I'm sorry." Anakin let his hand rest on Luke's shoulder which seemed to sag.

"I don't want to stay here with the stupid Chancellor sneaking around." Luke complained, glaring at the ground.

"Perhaps you could get past this grudge you have against him and try spending some time—" Obi-Wan tried, they didn't call him the Negotiator for nothing.

"No." Luke deadpanned, spinning away in mock defeat. He wasn't a Skywalker for nothing. He'd sneak onto their ship, mask his presence and then come out of hiding in hyper-space.

Obi-Wan and Anakin shared a troubled look behind the young man's back. Anakin felt conflicted; of _course _he wanted Luke to come with them, but this mission wasn't exactly the safest mission ever, and plus if the council found out that he'd defied their wishes…he'd be in a lot of trouble.

"Good bye Luke, see you soon." Anakin called, hoping the young man would turn around and say good bye. Obi-Wan pulled Anakin along after him to the Hangar Bay.

"I feel so bad Obi-Wan." Anakin murmured morosely. Obi-Wan nodded sympathetically. He'd felt exactly the same way whenever Anakin had pleaded with him to take him along on one of his missions when he was younger.

"He'll be fine." Obi-Wan assured him. With that thought in mind, the Negotiator and the Hero With No Fear strapped themselves in and prepared for the long mission ahead of them.

* * *

Luke grinned happily as he tried to make himself as comfortable as possible against the crates and boxes that were stacked in the cargo area. He winced as a particularly pointy corner dug into his back.

_If this uncomfortable corner is the price to pay for going on a mission with my father, then so be it. _He thought, shuffling around awkwardly before slumping in defeat against it.

Obi-Wan could finally relax as the ship went into Hyper Space. He glanced at his former Padawan fondly, watching as he slept in his seat, head slumped to the right.

"Force, that took forever!" a young voice startled him out of his musings and he turned in shock towards the source; there Luke Skywalker stood in all his glory, blonde hair mussed, clothes rumbled, and with a brilliant smile on his face.

"Wha—how—Luke?" Obi-Wan managed to stutter out, his mouth open. Such a shocked expression on his usually calm face made him look odd. Luke chuckled to himself before sitting in the spare seat.

"How are you? My backs sore from having to sit behind with all those boxes and everything, jeez, how long does it take to get into hyper-space?" Luke complained, a pout on his face.

"You have to get to the specific coordinates unless you want to end up somewhere completely different…that's not the point!" Obi-Wan huffed and crossed his arms. He wasn't _really _angry, Anakin had been feeling mopey ever since they had left Luke behind…at least he'd perk up now.

"Wha…Obi-Wan? Who're you talking to…?" Anakin muttered slowly, wiping his eyes sleepily. He ran mechanical fingers through his hair and cracked his back.

He leaned around his chair and took in Luke's appearance and yawned again.

"Hi Luke…wait, what? Luke?" Anakin was wide awake at this point. Luke grinned nervously and waggled his fingers in a shy wave.

_Force, I'd forgotten what a temper Father has…at least that's something him and Vader have in common._ He frowned before shaking his head and staring into the same bright blue eyes as his own.

"Hello Fa—Anakin." He tensed in preparation for yelling, perhaps to be shaken roughly again…

"But…what? When did you—how?" Anakin could only string a few words together as he stared at the young man sitting casually in front—or rather—behind him.

"HOW DID YOU GET HERE?" He exploded, his mind finally understanding what he was seeing. Luke Starkiller was aboard their ship.

Luke winced, and cleared his throat. "Ah, I snuck on. I just really wanted to come along!" Luke whined, wincing again when he heard himself.

_I sound like a whiny child. _He mused.

"You shouldn't be here! How did you even get on without Obi-Wan or me noticing?" If Anakin could have, he would have been pacing up and down in agitation—or better yet, shaking Luke so hard until he saw stars.

"With cleverness and stealth!" Luke stated proudly.

"Both of which you are thoroughly lacking." Anakin retorted, his shocked anger deflating rapidly into weariness.

_Luke is so unpredictable. _

"Well, it's too late to take him back now." Obi-Wan said, gesturing outside. Anakin groaned whilst Luke grinned triumphantly.

"That's not to say you aren't going to be in trouble for this!" Anakin rounded on Luke albeit playfully.

"Yeah, yeah. What'd you expect? I am a Sky—Starkiller after all." His stomach fluttered at as his slip up. Had they noticed? Obi-Wan had that was for certain, his face creased in confusion before he dismissed it.

Anakin, as usual, had been oblivious to everything that had happened, and smirked at Luke.

"Sounds like you get in trouble a lot." He stated.

"Like someone else I know…" Obi-Wan feigned innocence and pretended to be absorbed in the view of all the stars speeding past them.

Anakin shot him playful glare before turning to Luke once again.

"Well Starkiller, it looks like you're a stowaway. This mission isn't all too safe, so make sure you do what Obi-Wan and I say, okay?" He asked, Luke nodded.

"He's not coming with us, is he? I thought he would stay in the ship?" Obi-Wan asked, startled.

Anakin snorted. "You don't think he'd stay in here, do you? He's just sneak out after us and end up getting himself injured—or worse, killed." Anakin grimaced at the thought.

"He has a point you know." Luke added, a playful twinkle in his eyes. "Hey! I'd probably end up saving you!" he retorted when he realised what the rest of Anakin's sentence had been.

"We'll see about that." Anakin smirked. He was secretly glad that Luke had snuck onto his ship. For some reason, he felt better when he himself was watching over Luke instead of anyone else.


	10. Dangerous Mission

**_Sorry about the long wait! Ah...this is more of a filler than anything...sorry! :c_**

* * *

**Chapter Ten: Dangerous Mission**

"So what's our mission anyway?" Luke asked cheerfully, wriggling around in his seat to get as comfortable as he could.

"_Our_ mission is to find a rogue Jedi who has defected from the Order. _You _will be staying in the ship until we return." Obi-Wan commanded sternly. Luke nearly pouted in disappointment; he hadn't snuck on board and endured pointy corners for nothing.

"In case you hadn't noticed, I am a grown man of 20. I'm pretty certain I can handle some rogue Jedi." Luke said, crossing his arms and scowling.

"I agree with Obi-Wan Luke. While you are a very capable Jedi with using a Lightsaber and using the Force…you'd be more of a hindrance than any help." Anakin explained, flicking a few switches on the control panel before turning around to face Luke.

Luke felt betrayed and upset that his Father thought he was a hindrance. Crossing his arms, Luke glared defiantly at the two older Jedi.

"You can't make me stay on this ship! I'll sneak out myself and find this stupid rogue Jedi, and once I've dealt with him you'll both see that I'm competent enough to—"

"Luke." His father said, bright blue eyes staring straight into his own. They both stared each other, waiting for the other person to back down. Obi-Wan watched silently from the side lines, curious as to who was more stubborn.

Sighing, Luke backed down and glanced away.

"Whatever." He muttered, angling his body away from Anakin.

_No wonder they think I won't be able to handle this mission…I act like a spoilt kid half the time. C'mon, I'm Commander Skywalker! I should be showing them how mature I am! This is entirely Anakin's fault… _Luke glared at nothing in particular, oblivious to Anakin's worried stare.

_**Should I say something, Obi-Wan? **_He asked through his and Obi-Wan's Force-bond.

_**Let him brood, Anakin. I'm sure he'll get over it in a few minutes. **_Anakin nodded and turned back to face the front, closing his eyes in a vain attempt to get some more sleep.

* * *

"Now listen Luke, I know that you want to come with us, but as more experienced Jedi we're telling you that you should stay here—" As soon as the ship had landed on a rather desolate looking planet, Anakin had immediately started to lecture Luke on why he couldn't come with them.

The thing that irritated Luke the most was the fact that Anakin was using a strict parental tone. _You're only three years older than me! _He thought furiously.

"I'll stay." Luke clearly said, interrupting Anakin in the middle of a sentence.

"—once you've trained some more you can—huh?" Blinking foolishly, Anakin looked at Luke suspiciously. "You'll really stay?"

"I said that already, didn't I? Jeez…" Obi-Wan shared a dubious look with his former Padawan. It wasn't like Luke to give up so easily. It was suspicious.

_Very _suspicious.

"Just go and hurry up, or I may be forced to come after you guys." Luke joked, winking as he slid the ship door shut. He waved at them encouragingly from inside before closing his eyes and meditating.

* * *

"That was too easy, Master. Luke wouldn't give in that easily." Anakin whispered, his back pressed against a wall. He shivered lightly as the cold air seeped through his Jedi clothes.

Obi-Wan and Anakin had chased the rogue Jedi all the way into an abandoned building, where they had promptly lost track of him. At the moment, they were sneaking around the maze-like building, trying to find out where he was.

"I know. He's probably planning something." Obi-Wan whispered back. He thought he heard a slight rustle back down the hallway they came. He paused, tensing as he strained to hear any sound.

The only thing he could hear however was the wind as it calmly whistled through a few shattered windows.

_**Let's keep moving. **_He thought, creeping forwards. Anakin followed suit, his breath starting to come out in foggy swirls.

"Fools." Obi-Wan looked up too late and was caught by a sudden Force push. He went flying through the air, and crashed painfully into a wall. He slumped to the ground, his eyes half open, groggily watching the events that were unfolding.

Anakin had simply Force leaped over the top of the wave and had immediately engaged the man in battle. Their Lightsaber's clashed at an alarmingly fast pace as they both seemed to dance around each other. Anakin had earned a few small cuts and slashes to his arms and legs, and a particularly nasty one to his left upper thigh, making him favour his right leg more.

"You think that you can defeat me? You? A mere boy?" the man laughed harshly, his voice sharp and cold. He smacked Anakin across his face with the butt of his Lightsaber, watching in grim satisfaction as the younger of the two stumbled back, his nose bleeding.

"That was a cheap trick." Anakin mumbled, rotating his stiff shoulders. He eyed his opponent from head to toe, taking in his hooded appearance. His Lightsaber was blue, and from his voice Anakin could tell that he was probably in his mid to late thirties.

"Who said we couldn't fight dirty?" He asked, slowly walking towards Anakin.

"And this is where I step in!" Luke called out, seemingly stepping out from nowhere (though he had really been secretly following the duo ever since they left the ship), swinging his Lightsaber around. He activated it and watched as the blade hummed into life, illuminating his face.

"I was expecting Obi-Wan and Anakin…but you? Are you Anakin's brother? You look very similar…" the rogue Jedi pondered out loud.

"Luke!" Obi-Wan and Anakin yelled at the same time.

"That's my name, don't wear it out." Luke mumbled, stalking slowly towards the rogue Jedi. He knew that it wasn't really the right moment for any humour (no matter how bad), but he felt back in his element; on a battle-field, facing a dangerous enemy with just his Lightsaber and the Force to aide him...yes, Luke really felt back in his element.

"Luke, get back _now_!" Anakin growled, gripping Luke's arm in a tight hold.

Luke glanced back over his shoulder and fixed Anakin with a cold look. "Obi-Wan in barely conscious and you're injured." He stated in a voice unlike his own.

"A _nose-bleed _and a few cuts! I can still fight. He is too advanced for you!" Anakin retorted hotly. He was infuriated because he knew Luke was just as stubborn as he was, if not more. Plus, he didn't wan't Luke to get seriously injured or die...he knew that the man they were dealing with was a veteran, and that he would easily kill Luke when the opportune moment arrived.

"As much as I love watching your little…_moment_," the man spat out with obvious distaste, "I am rather eager to simply kill all of you and be on my way…so if you wouldn't mind." He slipped into a fighting stance, his hood casting a dark shadow over his face.

Before Anakin could properly register what was happening, Luke had leapt forwards and clashed blades with the man. Anakin was torn; he wanted—no _needed_—to stay and make sure Luke was alright, that he wouldn't get hurt…but on the other hand, he seemed to be holding himself well and Obi-Wan needed medical attention.

Cursing in Huttsee, Anakin Force-sprinted over to Obi-Wan, sliding on his knees as he harshly turned him over. Obi-Wan blinked blearily up at Anakin, forcing himself to sit up.

"What…? Luke's fighting?" He asked, his mind trying to sluggishly comprehend what was happening.

"Yes, are you going to be okay? You hit your head pretty hard. I need to go back to Luke-!" he was cut off by a shout of pain. It belonged to a young voice; Anakin instantly knew it was Luke.

He stumbled to his feet and ran back to the fight, watching as Luke stepped away from the man and clutched his right hand to his chest.

"What _happened_?!" Anakin demanded, blasting a Force-push at the rogue Jedi. The older man simply dodged the attack and watched impassively.

"A small nick, that's all." Luke muttered through grit teeth.

"You're hand…it's…" Anakin stared down at the wires that were poking out from Luke's hand. The synthetic skin had been burnt away, and the circuitry could be seen underneath.

"No time now, talk later." Luke grunted, throwing himself back into the battle. He fought harder than he had before, eager to avoid being skewered by a Lightsaber.

Swearing, Anakin too recklessly joined the battle, ducking just in time to avoid a fatal swipe to his head.

"Whew, that was a close one!" He shouted, parrying a series of quick blows.

"I thought you could do better than that!" Luke panted, a smirk lighting up his face.

"Care to turn this into a contest?" Anakin asked, locking blades with the other to men.

"Bring it on." Luke smirked.

The rogue Jedi now found himself fighting against _two _Jedi, both who were highly skilled. What infuriated him the most was that they were casually bantering whilst fighting him! The two Skywalker's were on the offensive, continually pushing the veteran back with each strike. They continued to fight in this fashion, leaping and twirling out of each other's way. Luke was starting to develop a stitch in his side, since he had considerably less stamina than the other two.

_Have to end this fast…have to prove that I'm not useless. _With a large surge of the Force, Luke spun around and disarmed the man, his opponent's Lightsaber flying high into the air before clattering to the ground.

However, the veteran wasn't easily defeated. He lurched after Luke whilst simultaneously ducking under Anakin's blade. He barrelled into Luke's small form and easily toppled him to the ground.

They rolled across the floor, Anakin charging after them. Luke smashed a fist into the man's face before igniting his Lightsaber and angling it towards the man's chest.

He was panting, his face was red, he had a stitch and his muscles ached in protest.

"I'll admit, I thought you would be harder to take down. At any rate, you are now going to be taken before the Jedi Council so that they can-"

"I know how it works, boy." The man snarled. Luke glared at him and yanked down the hood that obscured the man's face from view.

"Raita Sharks?" Anakin asked, staring at the man who was currently restrained on the floor. His light brown hair was sticking to his face with sweat, his brown eyes swivelling constantly between Anakin and Luke.

"Hm, to think I was quashed by a mere child…" Raita thought aloud. Luke scowled at him, pulling him up roughly so that he was standing.

"I'm not a child, I'm a Jedi Knight." And with that, Luke knocked him out using the Force.

Obi-Wan finally tottered over, draping his arm over Luke's shoulder so that he could help him walk back to the ship. Anakin hefted Raita's body over his shoulder, grimacing at how heavy he was.

"We're going to be having words, Luke." Anakin threatened, ice blue eyes clashing with another pair. Luke sighed, his already protesting muscles straining under Obi-Wan's weight.

_He's heavier than he looks. _He thought, breathing a sigh of relief when the ship came into view. Depositing Obi-Wan gently into a chair, Luke himself collapsed into one, vaguely wondering why his muscles hurt so much.

_I'm not that out of practice am I? _The searing stich that was still in his side indicated otherwise. _I really need to shape up… _Luke thought. He then realised that he had a few hours of hyper-space to enjoy and have a nice sleep in.

Anakin however, was in a less than happy mood. He slammed a few buttons and aggressively flicked a few switches before leaning back in his seat.

"What you did today nearly cost us the mission." He stated quietly. Luke's eyebrows rose incredulously at his Father's statement.

"If it weren't for me you guys would have failed!" he protested, sitting up indignantly.

"I was handling the situation fine before you stepped in!" Anakin snapped, barely holding back from shouting.

"You're so over-dramatic sometimes." Luke huffed, closing his eyes. He ignored Anakin's indignant spluttering, instead deciding to get some well-earned rest. "Oh, and Anakin..."

"Yes?"

"I won." Luke smirked at the older man before closing his eyes. Anakin sighed and shook his head, a smile on his face.

* * *

"Master Yoda, Master Windu." Anakin greeted formally. The little blue image of the Jedi Master's flickered a bit before steadying.

"Skywalker." Mace nodded stiffly. "I trust your mission was a success?" he asked, already knowing the answer.

"Yes, we have Raita with us right now, he is currently unconscious." Anakin explained, silently praying that they hadn't noticed Luke dozing behind him.

"Good. We will see you back at the Temple soon." Mace stated. Anakin nodded, thanking the Force that they hadn't seen Luke.

"Skywalker; seen Luke by any chance you have not, have you, hmm?" Yoda enquired, a hint of playfulness in his voice.

"Uh..." Anakin's voice faltered and he stopped himself from turning to look behind him. He smiled shakily and flexed his fingers. "Uh, you're breaking up! I'm losing connection! Argh…" He ended the transmission quickly and slumped back into his seat.

Luke cracked one eye open and stared at that back of his Father's sandy gold hair.

"I'm in trouble, aren't I?"


	11. A Turn For the Worst

_**Heh heh...excuse anything retarded, it's around 2:30am when I finally got finished writing this...argh, anyone have any idea's for future plots in the story? In case you guys hadn't noticed I've been making this up as I go long aha...(:**_

* * *

**Chapter Eleven: A Turn For the Worst**

_That could have gone better… _Luke mused to himself as he got ready for bed. As soon as they had arrived back at the Temple, Luke had been whisked away to face the wrath of the Jedi Council.

And they were _not _pleased.

Luke winced at the memory of having twelve less than happy Jedi interrogating and lecturing him. Since he wasn't an 'official' member of the Jedi Order, the worst they could do was punish him for his little excursion.

He had envisioned punishments where he would have to perform nearly impossible tasks, perhaps be ridiculed in front of the entire Jedi Order…no food for a week…and as Luke had stood in the middle of the room, surrounded by Jedi who simply stared at him, Yoda cleared his throat lightly and gestured at Mace.

"Luke Starkiller; in the event of you leaving the Temple without informing anyone of a higher rank than you and sneaking on-board Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker's ship—nearly _jeopardizing _their whole mission, may I add—the Jedi High Council hereby sentences you to do be on clean up duty for the rest of the week!" Luke had promptly burst out laughing at Mace's declaration.

_Clean up duty?! Are they serious? _He sobered up almost immediately however, when twelve blank faces stared back at him.

"Are…are you guys being serious? _Clean up duty_? What sort of punishment is that?!" Luke yelled incredulously.

His outburst was soon followed by an argument between Mace and himself about Luke's attitude. The argument seemed to have amused some of the Council members, including Yoda himself. After seven minutes of solid arguing, Yoda had calmly interrupted them and told Luke that he should go and rest.

"Luke, get your hand looked at too, you should, hmm?" Luke raised his eyebrows and glanced down at his right hand, the wires were still sticking out. His hand did feel a bit heavy…

"Of course, Master Yoda. I'm sorry for all the trouble I've caused." Luke said sincerely. The only one on the Council Luke truly respected was Yoda.

Mace hadn't failed to notice that.

After the surprising meeting, Luke had made a bee-line straight for his bedroom. He was sure that whilst the medics would be very good, they probably couldn't do much for his hand—it was a future model after all.

Luke paused when he passed by Anakin's room; he was tempted to check on how he was; he did get injured after all. He also wanted to make sure Obi-Wan was alright. Briefly using the Force, he realised that he couldn't sense his Father.

_He's probably with Obi-Wan in the medical bay. _He thought, slouching into his room to go to bed.

* * *

"Luke, wake up."

"Five more minutes…"

"You said that five minutes ago, now get up!"

Luke groaned as his duvet was forcibly yanked from him, the cold morning air making him shiver. He curled up into a little ball and turned over, mumbling incoherently that Anakin should leave him alone.

"Honestly, you're like a teenager sometimes." Anakin complained good-naturedly. Luke felt his bed dip under Anakin's weight as he sat down behind him. He tensed and waited for a few seconds for something to happen—was Anakin to sit there and stare at him until he got up?—_poke_.

Luke tensed up again.

Poke poke.

"Stop poking me." He snapped, throwing an irritated glare over his shoulder.

"It's nine in the morning, get up." Anakin replied, poking Luke at irregular intervals. Sighing heavily, Luke sat up and pouted at Anakin's satisfied smirk.

"I'll get you back for that." Luke muttered through a yawn, bringing his hands up to rub at his eyes.

"Good luck with that." Anakin teased, his ice blue eyes shining with mirth. He unconsciously swept his gaze over Luke's small frame, checking for injuries. "Your hand!" he exclaimed, remembering when he had seen the exposed circuitry underneath.

"Oh. That—uh, it really isn't anything. I'll get it fixed right now—!" Luke made to get up, but with one swift movement Anakin had pushed Luke back down.

"Can I see it?" Anakin asked gently, already poking and prodding at the wires. Luke sighed in nervous exasperation.

"Amazing…it has a synthetic skin? Certainly far more advanced than my one…" Anakin murmured, a look of rapt concentration on his face. He gently prodded at one of the wires that stuck out, making Luke hiss in pain.

"Just because it's prosthetic doesn't mean I can't feel anything—ow! Be careful!" Luke complained, pulling his hand away.

"Sorry…" Anakin apologized. He glanced away, frowning at the wall, lost in his thoughts. After a few moments Luke started to get worried.

"Anakin…?" he hesitantly asked.

"That means that I can get a better looking arm in the future!" Anakin exclaimed, a bright smile on his face. "If you want, I can fix it for you. It doesn't look _that _much different from mine." He offered, already off to find his tool set.

Luke watched him leave his room, a painful lump in his throat. Anakin would never get to replace it—at least not with a good prosthetic like his.

_Vader…I have to try harder. Look at me! The Force sent me back here for a reason, this is a once in a lifetime opportunity, and I'm wasting it by messing around and being childish. Pull yourself together Luke! _He gave himself a mental slap and let the Force swirl around him.

He wouldn't get distracted anymore, from here on out, he would be focused and mature. He was Commander Luke Skywalker and— "I got the tools!" Anakin's voice cut through his concentration like a knife.

"Great! My hand feels all weird since it got cut." He complained, forgetting his mantra of sorts.

"I'll fix it, don't worry." Anakin settled down in front of Luke. The two Skywalker's had both their legs crossed with identical looks of intense concentration on their faces…

"That doesn't go there!" Luke exclaimed, scowling as Anakin carefully adjusted some wires in his hand.

"I'm telling you Luke, that it does!" he replied hotly. Anakin was used to being praised for his mechanical abilities, he was rarely—in fact, he _never_—got corrected on what he was doing. Even then if someone had felt the need to tell him he was doing something wrong, they had only _mildly _suggested it to him.

And there Luke was practically yelling in his face that a wire didn't go there, when it was so painstakingly obvious that it did!

"Look, you obviously don't know what you're doing—"

"Oh, and you think you can fix your hand by yourself, using your _left _hand no less?" Anakin asked hotly, slapping away Luke's hand that tried to move the wire.

They both shot each other irritated scowls before Luke became quite again. Anakin sighed as he worked in peace; he was nearly done, he only had to replace a few of the sensors that had gone a bit funny…

"…"

"Don't say anything." The older of the two warned as Luke opened his mouth. Anakin wasted no time in scowling at Luke as he worked. "I've been doing this for years. I'm older than you, so I obviously know what I'm doing."

"Just because you're older than me doesn't make you better." Luke grumbled in protest.

Anakin smirked as he fixed the synthetic skin.

"Maybe one day I'll teach you how to reach my level." Anakin teased, running a trained eye over his work. "Done!" He declared, standing up and stretching.

Luke flexed his fingers experimentally, poking at it. He was relieved to find that he could still feel sensations.

"Thank-you." Luke looked up as Anakin shrugged modestly.

"Ah, it was nothing really. I took the liberty of modifying it for you…obviously I couldn't do a full modification but I did tweak some things so it should run much better now." He explained, packing away everything that he had brought with him.

Luke nodded, impressed with his Father's handiwork.

"Well, I'm going to get some breakfast, all that work has left me starving." Luke joked as he pulled on some new clothes.

"You didn't do any of the work!" Anakin laughed, clapping a hand on Luke's back.

"Well…I helped you." He relented as they made their way down to the canteen. "I really am still tired though, it seems I'm out of shape…I'm gonna go catch some sleep after this." Luke said, sitting opposite Anakin once they'd gotten their food.

"Back to sleep? I'll wake you up if anything exciting happens." Anakin joked, tucking into his breakfast. After they had both eaten and talked for a bit, Luke waved goodbye as he went back to bed.

* * *

Luke had been asleep for another two hours before he finally woke up again. He sat in the middle of his bed, his duvet wrapped all around him. Yawning, he rubbed at his eyes and sat there for a second.

What was that dark aura he could feel?

Stretching out slowly with the Force, he recoiled as the dark presence immediately made him feel sick. He resisted pulling away, idly wondering if it was Palpatine. He bit his lip; it was his Father's Force presence.

Getting out of his bed, Luke padded quietly to his Father's room, quietly knocking on the door before letting himself in.

"Fa—Anakin?" He asked, seeing the man pacing around. "What's wrong?" Luke inquired, hesitant to venture closer.

"I'll tell you what's wrong," Anakin snarled, clenching his fists, "the Chancellor elected me to me to represent him on the Jedi Council…but they denied me the rank of Jedi Master and they ordered me to secretly spy on Palpatine! Can you believe that? They're purposefully excluding me from the Council!" Anakin raged and rambled on some more, venting out his frustration.

"Anakin—"

"And the worst thing is that Obi-Wan was on their side! He's just jealous! He's always trying to stop me from reaching my full potential!" Anakin smashed his fist into the wall and Luke winced as a dent appeared. Anakin must have punched it with his mechanical arm, which was why he caused so much damage.

"Anakin, the Council are the wisest Jedi ever. They obviously know what they're doing…perhaps they think you aren't ready yet." Luke suggested, wary of his Father's fragile temper.

_Eloquent as always, Skywalker. _Luke thought to himself with a wince.

"You too? You're going to side against me with them?" the air in the room got thicker as Anakin's anger swirled around choppily.

"No no! It's just, I mean to be a Jedi Master and on the Council properly...I mean...and well you're very…emotional." Luke hastened to explain.

"_Emotional_?! What's that got to do with anything? They obviously don't trust me enough or they—"

"But they're trusting to spy on Palpatine, which is a big secret mission." Luke offered. He wanted to smack himself; he could _never _say the right things.

"He's been my loyal and trusted friend ever since I first got here. He's been the only one who I can truly trust. And of course now you," he added, "but I won't turn my back on him." Anakin stated, calming down slightly.

Luke certainly admired his Father's loyalty to his friends…if only it weren't to Palpatine though.

"What about Obi-Wan?" Luke asked, a frown marring his face.

Anakin sighed, messaging his forehead warily. "I should probably go apologize to him, _again_, since I yelled at him. I said things I shouldn't have." Anakin admitted guiltily, his eyes downcast to the floor.

Luke sighed. Palpatine was obviously up to something. He must have known that the Council would not approve Anakin straight away, that's why he did it…to make him angry and more vulnerable to the Darkside!

Luke grit his teeth and tried to release his anger into the Force. He had to stay level-headed and calm until he could figure out a way to make everything better again.

"Go and apologize to Obi-Wan, Anakin. If you don't know who to trust, you can definitely trust him. Go." Anakin nodded and gave Luke's shoulder a squeeze.

"Thanks for…you know, listening. I'll find you afterwards." Luke nodded and sent him a small smile, watching Anakin's retreating back until it disappeared behind the door.

* * *

Luke wandered around the Temple, not really knowing where he was going.

"Master Yoda." He greeted formally when the little green Jedi seemingly appeared out of nowhere. He beckoned for Luke to follow him and they walked in companionable silence until they reached a nearly empty part of the Temple. They got inside a room, Luke watching as Yoda closed the door firmly.

A bout of dizziness overcame Luke. He stumbled slightly before unceremoniously flopping to the floor so he could sit. Yoda looked at him knowingly.

"You belong not in this time, Skywalker. And try to remove you the natural balances of the world will." Yoda stated seriously, a small frown on his face.

"Natural balances? What—"

"Silence! It matters not!"

Luke swallowed but nodded, the bout of dizziness slowly leaving him.

"The longer you spend here, the weaker, become, you will. Complete your task and return back to your time as quickly as possible, you must!" Yoda warned, slamming his walking stick onto the ground a few times for emphasis.

Luke froze, his mind sluggishly muddling its way through everything Yoda had said, trying to understand it all.

"…Am I…am I _dying_?" Luke gasped out, eyes widening dramatically.

_If I'm dying…that means I'll have to be even more focused! I'm on a time limit! Force help me I'm not going to—_

"Be foolish, do not! Die you will not! Just become weaker, you will." With strength that didn't seem to fit his small, old frame, Yoda smacked Luke none to gently with his walking stick.

"Ow!" Luke howled, rubbing his injured head.

"Waste time; do not, young Skywalker, quick, must you be. Understand do you, hmm?" Yoda said sternly, gazing intently into Luke's eyes. Luke sobered up and nodded determinedly, absently rubbing his head.

"Thank-you for telling me Yoda…now, I have a mission to get to!" Yoda watched as Luke sprinted away with renewed vigour.

He huffed as he shuffled slowly towards the door.

"Trouble, these Skywalker's are, hmm." He mused to himself.

The door swung shut behind him, and all was silent.


	12. Rescuing the Chancellor

**Sorry for the long wait I am such a terrible person D: hm well enjoy :D**

**Rescuing the Chancellor **

Luke Skywalker wasn't quite sure how he had ended up in his current position; one minute he had been on Coruscant in the Jedi Temple, minding his own business, when suddenly the whole Temple was in chaos.

Apparently the Chancellor had been kidnapped by General Grievous.

Luke had immediately found Yoda and had been told that—of course—his Father and Ben had been sent to rescue him. Incensed, and _knowing _that this was all an elaborate plan to lure Anakin to the Darkside, Luke had sprinted all the way to the Hangar Bay, hopped into the nearest ship and set off to join them.

Young Skywalker was almost regretting the decision when he arrived at the battle. It wasn't how ruthless or how dangerous the fighting looked that made Luke hesitate; it was in fact the sheer _number _of ships he could see.

_Force, how am I supposed to find them when there are all these ships?!_ Desperately calling upon the Force to aide him, Luke dove straight in, dancing out the way of any shots aimed towards him. His fingers itched to pull the triggers and to get involved in a good fight, but his first priority was to find his Father.

_**Fa—Anakin? **_He called out hesitantly through their Force Bond.

_**Luke not now! **_Came his Father's snapped reply. Sighing, Luke stretched out with the Force, searching for a hint of his Father's or Ben's signatures.

_Aha! Gotcha. _It was weak, but Luke had locked onto his Father's position and was already speeding towards him. He could vaguely see Anakin and Ben's ships speeding towards General Grievous' flagship, _Invisible Hand_.

_**Anakin! I'm coming up behind you and Obi-Wan. **_Luke sent mentally, pulling up sharply just in time to avoid a rather nasty collision.

_**Luke?! **_Anakin had been so absorbed in the fight and making sure they reached the Invisible Hand in time that he hadn't registered Luke's Force signature. He took a second to reach out and confirm it himself—Luke was right behind them!

"Master, Luke's here!" Anakin shouted into his head-set, tilting his ship to the side as to better remove the Buzz Droids that had attached themselves to Kenobi's ship. "Move to the right." Anakin instructed.

"Luke? For the love of—why is he here?!" Obi-Wan asked in an accusatory tone.

"Don't blame me!" Anakin replied, slamming the tip of his ship's wing into the last droid. Anakin overtook Obi-Wan and made a beeline for the flagship's Hangar Bay.

_**In case it escaped your notice, the shields are still up! **_Luke complained, spiralling dizzily to avoid fire. He fired a few shots back before once again focusing at the task at hand.

_**Right. **_Anakin thought, immediately opening fire on the shield generator. It exploded and the shield went down…Luke sighed in relief; they were going to make it..!

The emergency doors started to slide shut at an alarmingly fast speed. Anakin cursed and flew in followed closely behind by Luke and Obi-Wan. All three ships skidded violently across the Hangar Bay floor.

"Flying is for droids-!" Obi-Wan grunted, flipping out of his ship just as it exploded in an impressive shower of sparks and fire. He activated his Lightsaber and started decapitating the few dozen battle droids that were already inside. Anakin was immediately as his side, Lightsaber a mere blur at the speed in which he swung it.

Luke, however, had knocked his head against the dashboard and was struggling to unbuckle his seatbelt. A bout of dizziness overtook him, and the Hangar Bay swam before him. He opened the emergency hatchet above him and hoisted himself out, groaning at the strain it put on his arms.

Igniting his 'saber, Luke jumped (albeit clumsily) into the battle, his Lightsaber making a neat arc in the air as he swung it after him. The three Jedi made short work of the battle droids, and started to run to where Chancellor Palpatine was being held.

"I cannot believe you are here!" Obi-Wan exclaimed, though it came out more as a harsh pant.

"We are so having words about this…" Anakin snapped, skidding to halt. "We can calm down now, I can't see any droids…" he took a moment to get his bearings before beckoning R2 towards him.

R2 beeped and blooped, and Anakin nodded. "You okay though?" he asked, the little droid whirred an affirmative before whistling away ahead of them.

"R2 I need you to stay with the ship. Take this and wait for orders." Anakin said, throwing a small communicator at the droid. He shot a playful glare at Luke, "I would make you stay too, but you'd get into more trouble than good…" he turned back, running his fingers through his hair.

Stepping into the lift, they were surprised to find themselves face to face with around five battle droids, who also stared back at them (with as much surprise as their faces could show).

"Put your weapons down." One of them ordered, guns pointed towards the Jedi. There was pause before all three of them slashed at the droids nearly in sync.

"Right, we need to head up." Obi-Wan said, pressing a button. Elevator music started playing making Luke raise his eyebrows in silent question. He tapped his feet, adrenaline still coursing through him.

He eyed Obi-Wan's dishevelled clothes and calm features, wishing he had such good composure as he did. Anakin, on the other hand, was the opposite; he had a determined glint in his eyes, his hands balled into fists at his side. He was in his element.

Suddenly, the left jerked to a halt, tossing its occupants around slightly.

"What's going on?" Luke asked, his tummy clenching into anxious knots.

"Did someone press the stop button?" Obi-Wan asked, watching as both Skywalker's shook their heads.

"Well, there's more than one way of getting out of here!" Luke exclaimed, cutting a circular whole through the top with his 'saber.

"I like the way you think!" Anakin said with a smirk, allowing Luke to climb through first. Luke helped Anakin up before they both surveyed the situation.

* * *

"—R2 we want to go down not up—!" if droids could sweat drop, R2 would have done so in that moment. Two large droids were looking over a ship, but had been drawn to the noise of Obi-Wan's voice over the communicator. R2 tried to melt into the shadows, but seeing as it wasn't working, quickly wheeled over to the control panel and started to fiddle around.

"Hey! Stupid droid…" one of the big droids muttered, picking R2 up by his dome head. R2 whirred some choice profanities in indignation before sputtering out oil. It fell to the floor making the bigger droids slip. Yelling, the one holding the little astromech droid dropped him.

R2 hovered with his propulsion rocket boosters, setting the oil on fire. The two large droids yelled and stumbled about stupidly, shouting until they short-circuited and burnt down. R2-D2 did his own version of an evil chuckle before hovering away innocently as if nothing had happened.

* * *

Meanwhile, the lift had shot down causing Luke to fall back in and for Anakin to have to grab onto the ledge above him in the elevator shaft. He looked up into some battle droids' faces as they ordered him to put his hands up.

_Terrible pun… _he thought, grimacing at them since his hands were busy from keeping him from falling.

"Up! Up not down!" Obi-Wan was yelling at R2 through his com, red in the face from the speed they were going. Luke had only just managed to stand up when Anakin came crashing through again, landing on a very disgruntled Luke.

"Sorry." Anakin said breathlessly. Luke braced himself as the lift finally drew to a stop. The doors noiselessly slid open, revealing the General's quarters. Palpatine was bound by his wrists in the General's chair, looking calm despite his situation.

_Too _calm.

Obi-Wan had obviously thought so too for he and Luke approached more slowly towards the older man, whilst Anakin hurried ahead of them.

"Chancellor, are you okay?" He asked, worry etched into his face.

"Dooku." Was all Palpatine replied.

"Speak of the devil…" Luke turned around and immediately ignited his Lightsaber. Count Dooku waltzed into the room, an air of superiority surrounding him. He surveyed the three Jedi with apparent distaste, his eyes lingering on Luke.

"You won't get away this time, Dooku." Kenobi said, and with that the battle begun. Luke was closest to Dooku, so he swung first, performing a neat backflip as Count Dooku swung back whilst simultaneously dodging Obi-Wan's slash. Anakin brought his 'saber down but Dooku parried, blocking it neatly before twisting away and jumping up onto the higher level.

"I've gotten stronger since we last fought." Anakin stated, his voice raw from emotion.

"I can see that. I've been looking forward to this. Double the arrogance…double the fall." He threw Obi-Wan down to the ground using a Force Push, and Obi-Wan landed heavily on his side. He lay motionless as Dooku made a walkway collapse on Kenobi's lower half.

"Ben!" Luke called, starting forwards only to have Dooku raise him with the Force, partially crushing his windpipe before slamming him—hard—into a wall.

Anakin swung at Dooku, red with rage. He couldn't focus on anything but the fight, anger was coursing through his veins…he felt so _powerful_…he was going to win…the fight once again moved back to the lower levels, with Anakin's blows becoming more deadly and more strong.

"Yes!" Palpatine cheered, quickly smothering it and acting worried.

Meanwhile, Luke had managed to drag himself to the edge to watch what was happening. He could feel that his Father was slowly slipping into using a darker side of the Force…he knew Palpatine was goading him…tricking him…

"Anakin…" he called out weakly, staggering to his feet. He all but flopped to the lower level, walking in an almost drunk fashion towards to the two.

"Gah!" a shout of pain roused Luke from his muddled thoughts; Anakin had sliced the Count's hands off, and had both his blue 'saber and Dooku's red one criss crossed at the older man's neck.

"You've done well, Anakin. Now…kill him. It's only natural to want revenge, he took your arm, you take his...head." The Chancellor said, a dark edge to his voice.

"I…I can't, he's an unarmed foe…he needs to be taken back…to the Council." Anakin replied, his face contorted with the inner battle he was having with himself. It was plain as day to see his resolve crumbling, his muscles tensing in the action that they were about to perform…

"Anakin no!" Luke wheezed, brushing away the trickle of blood that was running down his face. "It'll open you up to the Darkside…don't do it." He licked his dry lips and hobbled closer to the young man. "Please." His voice cracked on the last word. He was only still standing through sheer will alone, he felt weak, and his head seriously hurt.

"Anakin, do it! He's too dangerous to be taken back alive, do it!" Palpatine hissed, his eyes narrowed into slits. Anakin glanced at his friend, and then at Luke, his eyes a shade darker than usual.

"If you're going to execute him—murder him—you'll have to kill me first!" Luke declared, pulling the Count backwards and placing himself in front of his Father. He wobbled but managed to stand still and firm, staring Anakin straight in the eye.

Anakin pulled back the 'sabers and deactivated them, ashamed of himself. He let Dooku's clatter to the floor before knocking the older man out with the Force.

"You did the right thing." Luke gently praised. He did it! He stopped a key moment in Anakin's life from happening! He smiled briefly at his Father before passing out.


End file.
